AUTOMATION OF ECONOMIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT OF SMALL-CAPACITY THERMAL POWER PLANTS

A. A. Tereshchenko, V. I. Matyash

(Presented by the scientific and technical seminar of the Research Institute of Automation of Electromechanics)

The efficiency of operation of any thermal power plant (TPP) can be increased through the proper organization of systems of economic and technological management. The principal tasks of economic and technological management include operational analysis of the technical and economic indicators of TPP operation, the compilation of optimal operating plans, plans for reconstruction and repair work, financial plans, etc., as well as questions of operational control, including optimization of load distribution among boiler and turbine units and optimization of the operation of other technological installations of the TPP. The tasks listed are characteristic of TPPs of any capacity.

The modern development of mathematical methods and technology, above all computer technology, makes it possible to solve the above-mentioned tasks effectively [1, 2], for which information-computing systems (ICS) are widely used. The latter are built on the application of various computers (CM). These are mainly specialized computers [2, 4, 5, 6, 7], and sometimes general-purpose computers [1, 5, 6], installed directly at the TPP. This article considers the features of automating small-capacity TPPs.

Figure 1 presents a TPP management scheme constructed on the basis of an analysis of the existing state of a particular TPP and of the main requirements imposed on the management system at the TPP. The processing of primary information, calculation of technical and economic indicators (TEI), and solution of optimization problems are carried out according to the corresponding algorithms. It follows from the scheme that three main conditions have the greatest influence on the optimal operation of a TPP: 1) collection and processing of primary information on the course of the technological process; 2) optimization of the operating modes of the units of the boiler and turbine shops; 3) operational analysis of the technical and economic indicators (TEI) of the operation of the TPP and of individual units. These conditions contain the greatest reserves for optimal TPP management. To realize them, means are required for collecting, accumulating, and transmitting information from the plant’s facilities and services, as well as means for processing the information obtained.

In automating small-capacity TPPs, various options for the use of computers are possible. The first option provides for installing a control computer directly at the TPP. With sufficient computer capacity, it makes it possible to realize all three of the conditions listed above.

A machine of the UM-1 type [4, 7] may be chosen as the control computer; the use of the ASVT—M system [8] is also of interest. The possibility of the second variant is due to the following. The collection and processing of primary information on the course of the technological process requires a considerable load on the computer memory and arithmetic unit, whereas the algorithms for processing this information are comparatively simple. The load on the computer can be reduced by expanding the functions of the equipment at the controlled points (CP), for example, by carrying out integration and averaging of the monitored parameter at the CP over a long period of time and periodically transmitting the resulting results to the central process-control point. In this case, the processing of the remaining information, the calculation of technical-and-economic indicators and of optimal operating modes of the units are carried out periodically (not less than once per shift), but with a time delay. In this variant the computer performs the role of an adviser and can be installed

Fig. 1. TPP control scheme

carried out outside the thermal power plant, for example, at a cluster computing center. The control system is closed through the dispatcher. The control scheme of a thermal power plant corresponding to this variant is shown in Fig. 2. Implementation of this variant gives the greatest effectiveness in automating a small-capacity thermal power plant.

Fig. 2. Control scheme of a thermal power plant using a digital computer at a cluster computing center

Of interest and, in our opinion, a promising variant is one in which the solution of technological control tasks is carried out at the thermal power plant by means of specialized computers, while the tasks of economic management are solved on a general-purpose digital computer at the cluster computing center.

What has been set forth in the article is a conclusion from the work being performed by the staff of the Computer Engineering Department of the Research Institute of Automation and Electromechanics on the automation of a specific thermal power plant. The work on automation is based on the second of the variants described above. At present, algorithms and programs have been developed for optimizing the operating modes of boiler and turbine units, on the basis of which operating charts have been calculated for various thermal and electrical loads of the thermal power plant. These algorithms are based on the method of dynamic programming and the method of successive approximations. A techno-economic analysis of the operation of the thermal power plant is currently performed once a month on the institute’s digital computer. The analysis algorithms are constructed in accordance with the methodology set out in [9].

REFERENCES

1. V. S. Ermakov, V. A. Minkov. Automated Systems of Economic Management of Thermal Power Plants. “Energiya,” 1970.

2. S. S. Khrizman. Digital Measuring Instruments and Systems. Kiev, “Naukova Dumka,” 1970.

3. Computer Engineering for the Control of Production Processes. Edited by Yu. M. Valdenberg. Moscow, “Energiya,” 1970.

4. V. I. Grubov, V. S. Kirdan. Electronic Computers and Modeling Devices. Kiev, “Naukova Dumka,” 1969.

5. Handbook for the Designer of Production-Control Automation Systems, edited by G. L. Smilyansky. Moscow, “Mashinostroenie,” 1970.

6. V. I. Loskutov. Control Computers. Moscow, “Mashinostroenie,” 1967.

7. A New Set of Modular Units of ASVT. NIIUVM, Severodonetsk, 1971.

8. Instructions for Compiling a Technical Report on the Operation of Thermal Electric Power Stations. 1960.