Sharif Digital Repository

This article presents a methodological approach for controller gain tuning of wind turbines using global optimization algorithms. For this purpose, the wind turbine structural and aerodynamic modeling are first described and a complete model for a 5 MW wind turbine is developed as a case study based on a systematic modeling approach. The turbine control requirements are then described and classified using its power curve to generate an appropriate control structure for satisfying all turbine control modes simultaneously. Next, the controller gain tuning procedure is formulated as an engineering optimization problem where the command tracking error and minimum response time are defined as... 

Heavy-duty gas turbines are usually devised in power plants to generate electrical energy. Sudden failure in any of its parts or subdivisions will result in a decrement of the efficiency of the system or emergency shutdown of the system. The highest risk of failure in these turbines is subjected to the hot gas path (HGP) of the turbine. Due to the existence of uncertainty in diagnosing process or damage growth, in this research, a modified risk-based probabilistic failure analysis model using Bayesian networks (BN) was developed. First, a failure model was developed using the Fault Tree Analysis, and then it is transformed into a BN model. This model is capable of predicting and diagnosing... 

Bi-evaporator electricity/cooling cogeneration systems can be a favorable addition to the integrated power plants since the generated cooling load should be addressed for different demands. More consequentially, taking advantage of such an integral set-up operated with highly reliable heat source such as biogas can be appreciable for nowadays industries. Regarding this demand, an innovative bi-evaporator electricity/cooling cogeneration system is introduced at first. Next, the suggested system is integrated with a gas turbine cycle fueled by biogas. In the subsequent part, the plausibility of the introduced integrated power plant is examined from first and second laws of thermodynamics (as... 

A novel fault ride-through strategy for wind turbines, based on permanent magnet synchronous generator, has been proposed. The proposed strategy analytically formulates the reference current signals, disregarding grid fault type and utilizes the whole system capacity to inject the reactive current required by grid codes and deliver maximum possible active power to support grid frequency and avoid generation loss. All this has been reached by taking the grid-side converter’s phase current limit into account. The strategy is compatible with different countries’ grid codes and prevents pulsating active power injection, in an unbalanced grid condition. Model predictive current controller is... 

In this paper, a transient model is developed to simulate the start-up operation of an industrial twin-shaft gas turbine based on real geometry and control logic. The components’ characteristic curves of the studied gas turbine were generated with the aid of CFD simulation tools and according to the real geometry of each component. The control logic of the studied gas turbine was simplified and coupled with the developed engine performance model. Also, the gas turbine actuators including variable inlet guide vanes, compressor bleed valves, and fuel valves were simulated so that their concurrent effects on the gas turbine transient behavior can be captured precisely. Moreover, the air-cooled... 

An innovative bi-evaporator electricity/cooling cogeneration system fueled by biogas is introduced. The plausibility of the introduced integrated power plant is examined from thermodynamic and economic vantage points. Later, single- and multi-objective optimization of the reckoned system are achieved by selecting appropriate parameters as decision variables and thermal and exergy efficiencies and total unit product cost (TUPC) of the system as objective functions. Four optimum modes of thermal efficiency optimum design (TEOD), exergy efficiency optimum design (EEOD), cost optimum design (COD), and multi-objective optimum design (MOOD) are selected for optimization and the attained results... 

Considering the wide spread locations of wind farms in Iran, it is important to develop a suitable decision support system (DSS) to fulfill proper management of wind farms. Extensive literature survey indicates that there are no integrated forms of DSS to manage a set of wind farms. The existing wind farms are performing independently, and there is no practical method for exchanging the online data. DSS can contribute to optimal operation of wind farms, operation and maintenance scheduling, pricing policy, etc. In this study, a geographic information system and RETSCREEN software were linked to the designed DSS to achieve a more suitable result. Also, a huge number of data are constantly... 

One of the main issues of wastewater treatment is the silica deposition in steam turbines. Evaporation of silica with the steam in adequate concentration is one of the main sources of scale formation in steam turbines. In this study, the authors introduce the utilization of a genetic-based approach—gene expression programming (GEP)—for solubility prognostication of the silica in superheated steam of boilers with respect to water silica content and pressure. The result of GEP mathematical approach is a new algebraic formula to achieve our goals. Developed model predicts the silica solubility in the range of 0.8–22.1 MPa and 1–500 mg/kg for pressure and boiler water silica content,... 

Solar updraft tower (SUT) is a simple power plant in which ventilation of heated air inside a channel drives a turbine. This system is recognised as suitable for areas with abundant solar radiation. As a result, there is no extensive research on the performance of SUTs under mild solar radiation. Studies show that strong ambient crosswinds can affect the performance of a SUT. In this paper, the efficiency of SUTs in areas which benefit from strong winds, despite low solar radiation, is investigated through numerical modelling. Comparison is made between the efficiency of a commercial-scale SUT in Manzanares (Spain) with intensive solar radiation, and one of the same size potentially located... 

In this study, a year-round dynamic simulation of a Combined Cooling, Heating and Power generation (CCHP) system has been performed. The proposed system is composed of an ejector cooling system, an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC), a solar collector field, heat exchangers and hot and cold storage tanks. It is considered that, a portion of the system input energy is provided by a solar collector field and an auxiliary heater supplies the extra required energy. The dynamic simulation of the introduced CCHP system is performed. The developed model is used to evaluate a year-round performance of the system for a residential building located in Tehran. The obtained results indicated that the proposed... 

In this study, the causes of failure in gas turbine burner tips were investigated. For this purpose, two burner tips used in a petrochemical company with different failure evidence as well as service times were inspected. These parts showed signs of deterioration such as multiple cracks, corrosion, and wear following 4000 h and 8000 h operations. The examinations included chemical composition analysis using optical emission spectroscopy (OES), stereo-, optical-, and scanning electron microscopy studies, and macro/micro-hardness measurements. These investigations revealed high thermal stresses to be the main failure cause of the burner tips. Moreover, due to flame inclination, a local... 

Multigeneration systems (MGSs) driven by renewable sources are proved as cutting-edge technologies for multiple productions purposes to curb greenhouse gas emissions. With this regard, a novel geothermal-based MGS is proposed to produce multiple commodities of cooling, heating, power, and hydrogen, simultaneously, using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as cold energy recovery. The system is composed of an organic Rankine cycle (ORC), an ejector refrigeration cycle (ERC), an LNG power generation system, and a proton exchange membrane (PEM) electrolyzer system. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed MGS, energy, exergy, and exergoeconomic analysis are employed as the most effective tools... 

Actuator disc models are frequently used to provide a semi-analytical approach to estimating aerodynamic loads on rotary blades. The basic idea is to distribute the aerodynamic loads on a virtual rotating disc instead of simulating the actual rotating blade. These loads are then imposed to represent the source terms of the Navier-Stokes equations, which can be solved numerically using the computational fluid dynamic methods. The thickness of the actuator disk grid is one important factor considerably affecting calculations of the wind turbine rotor. Past researches generally considered the idea of fixed grid thickness exerting along the blade in their actuator disk modeling. However, this... 

Optimization of wind farm (WF) layout has been studied in the literature with the objective of maximizing the wind energy capture. Based on the power spectrum density theorem, this paper shows that the WF layout affects not only the total harvested energy but also the level of power fluctuation, which, in turn, influences required capacity of battery energy storage system (BESS) needed to mitigate the inherent power fluctuation of the WFs. Since, both harvested energy level and BESS capacity directly influence the profit of WF owner, the effect of WF layout on these quantities is taken into account simultaneously, and WF layout optimization problem is redefined. Genetic algorithm is then... 

Wind turbine size has increased to megawatt capacity, and the related technologies and facilities have improved, including the cooling systems. Currently, all of the heat generated by wind turbine components is wasted to the environment. This study presents a conceptual design of a novel method for waste heat recovery of a wind turbine using an organic Rankine cycle (ORC). An organic Rankine cycle is implemented to the wind turbine as a part of the cooling system. The proposed system is thermodynamically modeled to evaluate the amount of recovered energy. Seven working fluids are chosen and investigated in the simulations to estimate the working fluid effect. The results revealed that the... 

A comprehensive optimal bidding strategy model has been developed for renewable micro-grids to take part in day-ahead (energy and reserve) and real-time markets considering uncertainties. A two-stage stochastic programming method has been employed to integrate the uncertainties into the problem. Moreover, the Latin hypercube sampling method has been proposed to generate the wind speed, solar irradiance, and load realizations via Weibull, Beta, and normal probability density functions, respectively. In addition, a hybrid fast forward/backward scenario reduction technique has been applied to reduce the large number of scenarios. Furthermore, the risk of participation in the markets has been... 

The purpose of this experimental work is to study the effect of slot depth to width ratio, rotational motion and inlet velocity on friction factor and Nusselt number in an annular flow between two concentric cylinders with smooth and slotted surface. The heated outer surface is stationary and the unheated inner one is rotating. This configuration is popular in industrial applications such as internal air system of gas turbine engines, cooling of rotating machinery, techniques of chemical vapor deposition and solidification of pure metals. The results show that the ratio of average slotted surface friction factor to that of the smooth one enhances by increasing the slot depth to width ratio... 

Purpose: Microgrids are inclined to use renewable energy resources within the availability limits. In conventional studies, energy interchange among microgrids was not considered because of one-directional power flows. Hence, this paper aims to study the optimal day-ahead energy scheduling of a centralized networked multi-carrier microgrid (NMCMG). The energy scheduling faces new challenges by inclusion of responsive loads, integration of renewable sources (wind and solar) and interaction of multi-carrier microgrids (MCMGs). Design/methodology/approach: The optimization model is formulated as a mixed integer nonlinear programing and is solved using GAMS software. Numerical simulations are... 

This paper focused on the conceptual design of a conventional gas turbine combustor via the multi-objective optimization approach. The suggested method integrated the design and estimation of the performance of the combustion chamber. The geometry and performance parameters could be found by applying the design tool. According to the level of available information in the primary phases of the design process, a chemical reactor network approach for modeling the combustion was chosen; thus, the droplet evaporation of the liquid fuel and unmixedness of the fuel-air mixture in the primary zone was modeled. The results obtained from the design tool for the two annular combustors were compared... 

Renovation and retrofit of gas turbine control systems yield significant economic savings, enhanced reliability, and improved performance. In recent years, the gas turbine industry is increasingly facing the need to well-established procedures for the acceptance tests of renovated control systems. This paper proposes a unified framework to evaluate the performance of renovated gas turbine control systems. Under a set of assumptions on the ambient and fuel conditions, a low-complexity modular model is presented and identified using optimization-oriented identification techniques. The accuracy of the proposed model is validated through experimental studies in full-load, min-load, and no-load...