The substantial inertia of the boiler restricts the flexibility of circulating fluidized bed (CFB) power units. To enhance the load ramp-up capability of the CFB power unit, we proposed a novel control strategy considering the spatial-temporal evolution of its internal stored energy. A dynamic model of the subcritical CFB power unit with a capacity of 300 MW was developed, incorporating the mechanism and control modules. By analyzing the spatial-temporal evolution of the stored energy in bed material, flue gases, refractory materials, economizer, evaporation subsystem, superheater subsystem, reheater subsystem, and turbine subsystem, we identified that the over-utilization of chemical and thermal stored energy in the bed materials is the primary factor restricting load ramp-up, while the thermal stored energy of the economizer is suitable for further utilization. Under the optimized control strategy that utilizes deviations of stored energy per mass of bed materials as a feedforward mechanism, the deviations of the key operating parameters during the load ramp-up process are significantly reduced, and the load ramp-up rate of the subcritical CFB power unit can be improved from 2.0 % Pe/min to 3.0 % Pe/min.
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