Superheated Steam

Temperature Control System

2.1 INTRODUCTION

The power generation has k e n quite expansive in India in w e n t time

considering the vast requirements of the country. Major pnrt of power generation in
India comes tfom fossil fuel fired power plants. I'hc unit size of power plants has
been increased largely considering the vast rcquirc~nentsof power generation as
well as economics of power generatii)~i.Since, the unit sizes have k e n i n c w e d
considerably and the fossil fuels are deplercd rapidly, there is a need far opmting
the units with high reliability and high ctXcic.nc! ~irhoulpolluting the envimnnrent.
In the chain of thermal cycle, sincc the boiler is rht front-end cquipmait, il plays a
major role in the overall relinhili[y and cl?icirtricy ofthcrniril power plant. 'lhe boiler
system in a thermal powcr plant consists mainly of slcam.watcr system and
combustion system which produces a high-prcssurc supcrliealcd strum lo drive rm
generator in order to produce power 126,271. 'Ihc ncccssorics such cis cconomiscr,
air preheater and supcrhcsrtcr are used to iricrcusc lhe cnicicncy ofthc hoilcr and thc
superheater is the most important one amongs:stthcm. 'lhe function of the supcrhcater
is to increase the temperature of stcam above the srilurtltion pait~l,'fhc ovcrall cycle
efficiency is very sensitive lo superheated stcam tcrnperature. I'hc supcrhrtatcd
steam temperature control is \cry ilnportant LO guaranlce opcretion saf'cly and lo
improve the economic benefits of the powcr plant 128,291.

2.2 SUPERHEATER

The superheater is a heat exchtlnger in which h a t is transfmrcd to the

saturated steam to increase its lcmpcralure. it incrcescs the overall cycle cflicicncy.
In addition, it reduces the moislure content in the lest stages of turbine and thus
increases the turbine internal efficiency, Superheater is placed in the palh of flue
gases /29,301.
 A few advantages of superheater are:

L Due to installation of superheater thermal efficiency of plant increases.

i. It avoids too much condensation of steam in the last stages of turbine due to
which erosion of turbine blade is reduced.

> It removes the moisture content of steam coming out of boiler and increases
its temperatures sufficiently above saturation temperature.

L Itcat of the flue gases is utilized to the maximum extent.

Heat Exchanger

A hcat exchanger is a thcrrnal tlcvicc-which functions in transmitting the heat

between two fluids characterized by different temperatures and situated at two
adjacent rooms. 'I'here arc two kinds of heat exchangers which are different for the
geometry of the thurmal exchange surface, they are double pipe and plate heat
exchangers. 'I'hc supcrhectter is of double pipe type heat exchanger. The double pipe
heat exchanger consists of two tubes. The external one in which the service fluid
flows and the internal onc in which process fluid flows[31]. A double pipe heat
exchanger scheme is depicted in Fig.2.1.

Modeling a heat exchanger is n difficult task because of its complex

dynamics characteri/cci by disrrihutstl parameters and non-linearity. A state space
model of distribuled parameters system is obtained by using the "direct lumping of
the process" technique [32]. This methodology is based on a subdivision of the
t h m a l exchanger surface in du sections (lump), so that state vector is defined by
the temperature of the sections. The temperature has been considered as constant in
every lump, a hypothesis which always holds for small lumps. Without this
assumption the relations are extremely complica(d and a model can be obtained
only for a very small number of lumps. To obtain a model approaching the real case,
it has been necessary to consider a large number of lumps. Reduced order models
can be obtained by means of model reductiori tcchniqurs 1331.

Modeling

The aim of the modeling phase is lo oblain a slrttc' space reptcscnratian ol'the
system starling from a non-lineur, continuous time ~ncxlelobrnined by ineans of rhc
"Direct lumping of the process" technique [341.

The following hypotheses are introduced.

1. Thc physical and chemical propcnics ot'tllc fluids tlre consrllnt.

2. The radial variations of thc fluid vclocily md rcmpcrururt: arc ncgligiblc,
3. The heat leakage is negligible.
4. The overall heat transfir cocfficicnt is constant.

The starting point consists of thc application uf' thc cncryy conscrvution
principle to every lump. The metal elfec~sbetween the hot and cold sections an:
neglected as they are thin and thc lluid avenge vclt~ityacross thc lube is nssurncd
to be constant. The balance relencd rrl one rooin (for thc time I, ill the point x-Ax) is
given by the following relation.

M : a.Ax.p (kg) the lump m u

m : av.p (kgls) the flow rate
a : The section of the room whert Ihc fluid flaws (m2)
 p : The fluid density (kgim3)
cp : Heat capacity (cal/kg.k) s
7' : 'The temperature of the lluid considered (K)
t : The time (s)
v : The fluid velocity (mls)
AT : 'I'he change in temperature (K)
A X : The incremental distance (m)
A :'The surface of the room included in the lump considered
IJ :The constant overall heat transfer coefficient represents the heat
transmission between the two fluids and depends on the geometry.

For the exterior tube

r2 = The exterior tube radices (m)

For the internal tube

rl = 'I'he internal tube radius

Non-linear model

'Ihc hcnt cxchanper is divided into N lumps so that the state space model of
the system refers to o state vector 'l' representing the temperature of each lump. The
vector can be subdivided into two ports, the first representative of fluid 1 and the
second fluid 2.
 where Tp, @=1,2; j=O.1 .........,N) is the Ihwd dhpoi111KWIII iempmturc
Tlo,TZOare considered as part of the inputs. 'The mera conversion principle applied
to the two sections leads to the following relations.

Which can be rewritten ils

Linearization

Y
t,,= -b,.q,, + bl.T?,)+-J-*(T,,
hr
, - T.,)
 Now, if Ax is small enough, the derivative can be approximated by means of

the incremental ratio:

Further more, the derivative can be approximated with the steady state.

1lencc,

Which corresponds lo the general form: T=F (v).T t. G(u).u,considering the

general case of N lumps, state space representation of N' order can be obtained.
Reduced order models can be obtained by means of identification andor model
reduction techniques [36]. The lower order model of superheater for 500 MW boiler
is of fifth order and is given helow [28].
2 3 SHS TEMPERATURE CONTROL

An accurate control of SllS temptrtlturc is impdnnt lilr cflicicnt pnvcr plant

operation. The principle variables affecting St1S tcn~pernturc are (1) furnace
temperature; (2) temperature of gases entering the superheater; (3) mass flow m e of
the gases through superheater; (4) feed water tempratun; ( 5 ) variation of' load on
the unit. The effect of load variation on SIIS tcmpcratirre is however, the most
important. The superheated steam tcmperaturr is to be maintained at a typical value
of 540°C for 500 MW unit. A reduction in the temperatun: rcsults lass in plant
efficiency and excessive condensation of steam in rhe 1st stogcs of turbine which
results erosion of turbine bladcs. On the other hand, a ruisc in the tcmpcralure resulls
in overheating and failure ofsuperhentcr tubes and turbine bladcs 128,291.

Single loop control system

The black diagram shown in Fig.2.2 represents the total control systcm with a
single controller including process. In this diiigram steam cntcn into deuupcrhatcr
at a particular temperaturc, whereas munipulating thc quantity oS spruy walcr
controls the outlet temperaturc. 'Ihis temperature is Sed lo supcrhcater as input end
outlet temperaturc of superheater is fcd to thc turbines. I h c scnson provided at thc
outlet measure the temperaturc of the supcrheatcd steam and arc compared with sct
point temperature. The differcncc bctween the superhutted retnpcrature and outlet
temperature of the superheated steam is called as deviation, This dcviatian is fcd to
the controller .The controller output value controls the amount of opening of conlrol
valve. Depending upon the valve position the amount of spray water admitted into
the desuperheater is manipulated.
 A brief description of the individual blocks is given below:

Desuperheater

This mixes the spray water with the inlet steam increasing the spray water
from spray valvc which cools down the inlet temperature.

Superheater

In this section the outlet temperature of desuperheater i.e. inlet temperature of

this section is heated upto the required value by absorbing heat from furnace.

Temperature transducer (TT)

It measures the temperature of the superheater outlet steam,

Comparator
It compares thc set point temperature and actual outlet temperatures of
superheater.

Controller
Depending upon the value of error, control action is generated such that
outlet temperature of superheater is same as that of set point temperature.

Control valve

Depending upon the controller output value, the control valve position is
modulated to monupulate the amount of spray water admitted into the desuperheater.
Cascade Control System

The block diagram shown in Fig.7.3 reprtsents the cascade control system of
superheated steam temperature. Cascade caltrul system consists of primary and
secondary loops. Disturbances occurring in inlet tempcmturc of superheurcr ~ u f :
corrected by secondary controller beforc they can afkct outlet tcmpcrature of
superheater. The loop that measures the tempcrwture of superhestcr stean and uses
external set point is a primary loop. The loop that tncasures the sullel temperature of
desuperheater m d uses the output of primary controller as its set point is o secondary
loop.

The cascade control conliguralion consists of one munipulatcd varitlblc und

two measurements. Two mcasurcnlcnrs are taken from the syslenr and elich is usrd
in its own control loop. In thc primar~loop, ho\rcvcr, ttlc controller outpu~is set
point of the inner loop, 'I'hus, if the oulcr loop conirolled variable changes, thc c m r
signal that is input to the coritroller affects a cllangc in sct point of ~ h csecondary
loop. Even though the measured valuc of thc sccondriry loop hus not changed, the
inner loop experiences an error signal and thus, new output by virtue of thc set point
change. Cascade control generally provides better control of the prirnq loop
variable than is accomplished through a singlc vuriablc syslem.

2.4 DESIGN PARAMETERS OF SHS TEMPERATURE CONTROL

SYSTEM

Desapcrheater

Desuperheater reduces thc stam lemperaturc by spraying low temperatun:

water from the boiler drum or economizer exit. Water mixes with high velocity
stm, vaporizes and cools the steam, 'lhc water uxd must be of high purity yo that
no deposits ate added on the superheater tuber, pipa and twbinc blades. The spray
27
type desuperheater or attemperator has been quite satisfactory in its service. It
provides a rapid and sensitive means for tcmperafure control, by regulating the
amount of spray water [29],

The response of outlet temperature of desuperheater to the changes in spray

water in the case of 500 MW boiler is instantaneous. Hence, there is no dynamics
involved but the coefficient connecting the spray change to the change in outlet
temperature of desuperheater at 100% load is 0.557.

Superheater

The inlet temperature of the superheater is increased by a fidctor of 1.382 at

100% load for a 500 MW boiler because-of heat input from the furnace. The
dynamics of superheater is such that the response of outlet temperature to change in
inlet temperature is characterized by a series of first order lags with time constants
that vary inversely with steam flow rate. FiRh order transfer hnction model of
supcrhcnter is used Ibr snldy in ths prcser~trssearch wrk. The lower order transfer
function of superhcu~erfor 500 MW boiler is given by equation [2.10].

Transducer

The successt'ul operation of any process control system depends in a very

critical manner, on the precisc measurement of the controlled output and
uncorrupted transmission of the measurement to the controller. The first requirement
implies the need for an accurate measuring device while second necessitates good
and effective transmission lines. Transducer measures the outlet temperature of
superhated steam(21. The trnnsfcr function (G,)of the measuring device in the case
of SHS temperature control systcm for 500 MW boiler is unity.
Control valve

Final control elements are the hardware coinponenls of the corrtrol loops that
implement the control action. Ihey receive the output of a contmllw and adjust
accordingly the value of the manipulated variublc. l'hc mos~conlnlori final contn~l
element is control valve. The response to the changes uf the m e t smutl or lncdium
size valves is very fast so that the dynamics can bL. neglccled. In such u case only a
constant gain term will remain which relates thc output from the conlmller lo thc
tluid flow through valve [2]. 'I'he overall stndy starc ctxficicnl ((3") of control
valve and desuperheater in the casc of SI1S ternpcrattmrc system for 5QO MW boiler
is 0.557.
Flg.2,l: Double Pipe Heat Exchanger
Flg.2.2: Block Diagram of Super Heated Steam Tempemturo Control
System with Blngle Controller
 Steam Steam to
~esuperheittcr Superheater Turbine

Conlrol Set
Valve Point
P
t t
4
Spray
Wnlcr

Fig.P.3: Block Diagram of Super Heated Steam Temperature Control

System with Cascade Controller