MODELLING, SIMULATING AND OPTIMIZING BOILERS

This paper describes the modelling, simulating and optimizing including experimental verification as being carried out as part of a Ph.D. project being written resp. supervised by the authors. The work covers dynamic performance of both water-tube boilers and fire tube boilers. A detailed dynamic model of the boiler has been developed and simulations carried out by means of the Matlab integration routines. The model is prepared as a dynamic model consisting of both ordinary differential equations and algebraic equations, together formulated as a Differential-Algebraic-Equation system. Being able to operate a boiler plant dynamically means that the boiler designs must be able to absorb any fluctuations in water level and temperature gradients resulting from the pressure change in the boiler. On the one hand a large water-/steam space may be required, i.e. to build the boiler as big as possible. Due to the internal pressure the consequence of the increased volume (i.e. water-/steam space) is an increased wall thickness in the pressure part of the boiler. The stresses introduced in the boiler pressure part as a result of the temperature gradients are proportional to the square of the wall thickness, and the total stress level (i.e. stresses introduced due to internal pressure plus stresses introduced due to temperature gradients) must always be kept below the allowable stress level. In this way, the increased water-/steam space that should allow for better dynamic performance, in the end causes limited freedom with respect to dynamic operation of the plant. By means of an objective function including as well the price of the plant as a quantification of the value of dynamic operation of the plant an optimization is carried out. The dynamic model of the boiler plant is applied to define parts of the objective function and the constraints.