Hyper Facility Research Articles

Dynamic Effect of Cold-Air Bypass Valve for Compressor Surge Recovery and Prevention in Fuel Cell Gas Turbine Hybrid Systems

A large volume between compressor and turbine is present in fuel cell gas turbine hybrid systems. The substantially larger compressor plenum volume modifies the dynamic behaviour of these systems, increasing the risk of compressor surge during transients and subsequent destruction of both turbomachinery and fuel cell components. Diverting part of the compressor inlet flow directly to the turbine inlet through a cold-air bypass valve, bypassing the fuel cell stack, has been proven to be an effective method to increase the surge margin during normal operation and also to recover the machine from fully developed surge. This study investigates the dynamic effect of different cold-air bypass valve opening/closing procedures, especially steps and ramps changing the valve fractional opening. This analysis was carried out with reference to the Hybrid Performance (Hyper) facility: a hybrid system emulated using hardware and a cyber-physical fuel cell system at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Simulations performed on a Matlab®-Simulink® dynamic model of the system based on Greitzer’s theory showed a different behaviour varying the valve fractional opening with steps or ramps. Many experimental tests were performed on the Hyper facility to confirm the trends obtained from the simulations results. From the outcomes of this study, it has been possible to determine how to maximize the surge recovery effect of the cold-air bypass valve opening and to minimize surge related risks during the valve closure.

Recursive System Identification and Simulation of Model Predictive Control Based on Experimental Data to Control the Cathode Side Parameters of the Hybrid Fuel Cell/Gas Turbine

A model predictive control (MPC) strategy has been suggested and simulated with the empirical dynamic data collected on the hybrid performance (HyPer) project facility installed at the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL), U.S. Department of Energy, in Morgantown, WV. The excursion dynamic data collected between the setup changes of the actuators on the cathode side of the HyPer facility were processed offline to determine the feasibility of applying an adaptive model predictive control strategy. Bypass valves along with electric load (EL) of the system were manipulated, and variables such as turbine speed, mass flow, temperature, pressure of the cathode side, among others were recorded for analysis. The three main phases of the MPC, identification of the models, control design, and control tuning have been described. Two identification structures, autoregressive exogenous (ARX) and a state-space model, were used to fit the measured data to dynamic models of the facility. The system identification ARX model required around 0.12 s of computer time. The state-space identification algorithm spent around 0.65 s, which was relatively high considering that the sample time of the sensors was 0.4 s. Visual inspection of the tracking accuracy showed that the ARX approach was approximately as accurate as the state-space structure in its ability to reproduce measured data. However, by comparing the loss function and the final prediction error (FPE) parameters, the state-space approach gives better results. For the ARX/state-space models, the MPC was robust in tracking setpoint variations. The MPC strategy described here offers potential to be the way to control the HyPer facility. One of the strengths of MPC is that it can allow the designer to impose strict limits on inputs and outputs in order to keep the system within known safe bounds. Constraints are highly present in the HyPer facility. The constraint airflow valves and the electric load were used in the simulation to control the constraint turbine speed and the cathode airflow (CAF). The MPC also displayed good disturbance rejection on the output variables when the fuel flow was set to simulate fuel cell (FC) heat effluent disturbances. Different off-design scenarios of operation were tested to confirm the estimated implementation behavior of the plant-controller dynamics. One drawback in MPC implementation is the computational time consuming between calculations and will be considered for future studies.

Operating strategies to minimize degradation in fuel cell gas turbine hybrids

The hybridization of Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) and gas turbine technologies provides an increase in system efficiency and economic performance. The latter aspect is significantly affected by fuel cell degradation, due to several mechanisms. However, hybrid systems allow different control strategies to minimize degradation effects on system performance and their impact on economic feasibility.A real-time distributed model of a SOFC was used to simulate fuel cell degradation in the cases of a standalone stack and a hybrid configuration, in the latter of which the numerical model is normally coupled with the hybrid system hardware components of the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) hyper facility. The results showed how in a hybrid system it is possible, with an appropriate strategy, to maintain constant voltage even if the cell is degrading, reducing degradation rate during time. At constant power demand, fuel cell life could be significantly extended using the operating strategies allowed by coupling with a turbine (an order of magnitude longer than a standalone fuel cell), maintaining high system efficiency despite fuel cell degradation.

Control Impacts of Cold-Air Bypass on Pressurized Fuel Cell Turbine Hybrids

A pressure drop analysis for a direct-fired fuel cell turbine hybrid power system was evaluated using a hardware-based simulation of an integrated gasifier/fuel cell/turbine hybrid cycle, implemented through the hybrid performance (Hyper) project at the National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy (NETL). The Hyper facility is designed to explore dynamic operation of hybrid systems and quantitatively characterize such transient behavior. It is possible to model, test, and evaluate the effects of different parameters on the design and operation of a gasifier/fuel cell/gas turbine hybrid system and provide means of evaluating risk mitigation strategies. The cold-air bypass in the Hyper facility directs compressor discharge flow to the turbine inlet duct, bypassing the fuel cell, and exhaust gas recuperators in the system. This valve reduces turbine inlet temperature while reducing cathode airflow, but significantly improves compressor surge margin. Regardless of the reduced turbine inlet temperature as the valve opens, a peak in turbine efficiency is observed during characterization of the valve at the middle of the operating range. A detailed experimental analysis shows the unusual behavior during steady state and transient operation, which is considered a key point for future control strategies in terms of turbine efficiency optimization and cathode airflow control.

Avoiding Compressor Surge During Emergency Shutdown Hybrid Turbine Systems

A new emergency shutdown procedure for a direct-fired fuel cell turbine hybrid power system was evaluated using a hardware-based simulation of an integrated gasifier/fuel cell/turbine hybrid cycle (IGFC), implemented through the Hybrid Performance (Hyper) project at the National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy (NETL). The Hyper facility is designed to explore dynamic operation of hybrid systems and quantitatively characterize such transient behavior. It is possible to model, test, and evaluate the effects of different parameters on the design and operation of a gasifier/fuel cell/gas turbine hybrid system and provide a means of quantifying risk mitigation strategies. An open-loop system analysis regarding the dynamic effect of bleed air, cold air bypass, and load bank is presented in order to evaluate the combination of these three main actuators during emergency shutdown. In the previous Hybrid control system architecture, catastrophic compressor failures were observed when the fuel and load bank were cut off during emergency shutdown strategy. Improvements were achieved using a nonlinear fuel valve ramp down when the load bank was not operating. Experiments in load bank operation show compressor surge and stall after emergency shutdown activation. The difficulties in finding an optimal compressor and cathode mass flow for mitigation of surge and stall using these actuators are illustrated.

A plasma drag hypervelocity particle accelerator (HYPER)

Current debris models are able to predict the growth of the space debris problem and suggest that spacecraft must employ armor or bumper shields for some orbital altitudes now and that the problem will become worse as a function of time. The practical upper limit to the velocity distribution is on the order of 40 km/s and is associated with the natural environment. The velocity distribution of the man-made component peaks at 9–10 km/s with maximum velocity in the 14–16 km/s range. Experience in space has verified that the “high probability of impact” particles are in the microgram to milligram range. These particles can have very significant effects on coatings, insulators, and thin metallic layers. The surface of thick materials becomes pitted and the local debris component is enhanced by ejecta from the impact events. In this paper, the HYPER facility is described which produces a reasonable simulation of the man-made space debris spectrum in a controlled environment. The facility capability is discussed in terms of drive geometry, energetics, velocity distribution, diagnostics, and projectile/debris loading. The facility has been used to study impact phenomena on Space Station Freedom's solar array structure, the calibration of space debris collectors, other solar array materials, potential structural materials for use in the space, electrical breakdown in the space environment, and as a means of clarifying or duplicating the impact phenomena on surfaces which have been exposed in space.