Acquisition of a Laboratory-Scale Steam Power Plant to Advance Thermal Power Systems Research and Education
Abstract
This proposal requests funds to purchase a laboratory-scale steam power plant, consisting of a steam generator and an axial steam turbine. This equipment will be installed and maintained in the Unit Operations Laboratory at Chemical Engineering Department, California State University Long Beach (CSULB) to expand the research capability on thermal power systems. The long-term goal of this effort is to establish a research and education center of the process control of energy systems at CSULB. This mini steam power plant, in combination with the automatic control modules developed by PIs, will enable researchers and students to solve practical control problems for thermal systems. PIs will lead students to conduct research projects: modeling, control and optimization of the thermal process to meet the power requirements of future electric equipment, which is highly relevant to the defense industry. The operating data generated by this laboratory-scale power plant will support faculty members and students to build and validate an intelligent process model based on various methods, such as time series analysis, neural network or fuzzy logic. A model predictive controller will be experimentally tested on this equipment under different scenarios to enhance process safety and efficiency. Besides, the optimal operating conditions of the power plant will be identified through the global optimization approaches developed by PIs to maximize the power generation, minimize fuel consumptions and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If successful, this project can significantly advance our knowledge of the thermal process and establish new control patterns of that energy system. This steam power plant also facilitates the teaching and design projects for a variety of classes in both the Chemical and Mechanical Engineering Departments, including thermodynamics, heat transfer, chemical process control, and chemical engineering laboratory. It will help students to gain more research experience in plant-wide process control on thermal systems and broaden their knowledge scope. The high school teachers and students will also learn the basic knowledge of thermal process demonstrated by this power plant, through the summer camp or internship. Overall, this instrument will be integrated with the mission of CSULB to serve the minority students to conduct research and learning.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2019
- Source ID
- W911NF1910499
Entities
People
- Yang Yu
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- California State University
- Office of the Secretary of Defense