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1
Rosso, Stefano. "Power Plant Operation Optimization Economic dispatch of combined cycle power plants." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för industriell teknik och management (ITM), 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-264350.
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As electricity production from renewable sources increases, higher flexibility is required by fossil fuel generation to cope with the inherent fluctuations of solar and wind power. This results in shorter operating cycles and steeper ramps for the turbines, and more uncertainty for the operators. This thesis work applies mathematical optimization and statistical learning to improve the economic dispatch of a combined cycle power plant composed by two separate blocks of two gas turbines and one steam turbine. The goal is to minimize the input fuel to the gas turbines while respecting a series of constraints related to the demand the plant faces, power generation limits etc. This is achieved through the creation of a mathematical model of the plant that regulates how the plant can operate. The model is then optimized to reduce fuel consumption at a minimum. Machine learning techniques have been applied to sensor data from the plant itself to realistically simulate the behavior of the turbines. Input-Output curves have been obtained for power and exhaust heat generation of all the turbines using ordinary least squares on monthly data with a ten minutes sampling rate. The model is cross-validated and proven statistically valid. The optimization problem is formulated through generalized disjunctive programming in the form of a mixed-integer linear problem (MILP) and solved using a branch-and-bound algorithm. The output of the model is a one-week dispatch, in fifteen minutes intervals, carried out for two months in total. Lower fuel consumption is achieved using the optimization model, with a weekly reduction of fuel consumed in the range of 2-4%. A sensitivity analysis and a correlation matrix are used to highlights the demand and the maximum available capacity as critical parameters. Results show that the most efficient machines (alternatively, the ones with highest available capacity) should be operated at maximum load while still striving for an efficient utilization of the exhaust gas.När elproduktionen från förnybara källor ökar krävs högre flexibilitet av fossil bränsleproduktion för att hantera fluktuationerna från sol- och vindkraft. Detta resulterar i kortare driftscykler och brantare ramper för turbinerna och mer osäkerhet för operatörerna. Detta avhandlingsarbete tillämpar matematisk optimering och statistisk inlärning för att förbättra det ekonomiska utnyttjandet av en kombicykel i ett kraftverk som består av två separata block med två gasturbiner och en ångturbin. Målet är att minimera bränsleförbrukningen hos gasturbinerna samtidigt som man tar hänsyn till en serie av villkor relaterade till efterfrågan som anläggningen står inför, kraftproduktionsbegränsningar etc. Detta uppnås genom skapandet av en matematisk modell för anläggningen som reglerar hur anläggningen kan fungera. Modellen är sedan optimerad för minsta möjliga bränsleförbrukning. Maskinteknik har använts på sensor data från själva anläggningen för att realistiskt simulera turbinernas beteende. In och utdata kurvor har erhållits för kraftproduktion och avgasvärmeproduktion med hjälp av ordinary least squares (OLS) med månads data och med en tio minuters samplingshastighet. Modellen är korsvaliderad och bevisad statistiskt giltig. Optimeringsproblemet formuleras genom en generaliserad disjunktiv programmering i form av ett mixed-integer linear problem (MILP) och löses med hjälp av en Branch-and-Bound algoritm. Resultatet från modellen är en veckas värden, med femton minuters intervall, totalt i två månader. Lägre bränsleförbrukning uppnås med hjälp av optimeringsmodellen, med en vecka minskad bränsleförbrukning i intervallet 2-4%. En känslighetsanalys och en korrelationsmatris används för att visa efterfrågan och den maximala tillgängliga kapaciteten som kritiska parametrar. Resultaten visar att de mest effektiva maskinerna (alternativt de med högsta tillgängliga kapacitet) bör drivas med maximal belastning medan de fortfarande strävar efter ett effektivt utnyttjande av avgaserna.
2
Mir, Cantarellas Antonio. "Competitive power control of distributed power plants." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/552958.
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Nowadays, the electrical energy sector is currently found in a dramatic changing paradigm, which moves towards an increasing trend in generating power at distribution levels, where electricity is typically consumed, by means of non-conventional/renewable based generation units. These new generation technologies, termed as distributed generation, not only offers a non-pollutant, cheap and efficient source of energy to cover increasing demand, but also enhance the reliability of supply to critical loads and reduce the need for additional grid reinforcements. Aside of the technical benefits provided, distributed generation will massively integrate renewable energy resources, with new type of loads and end-user actors, such as prosumers, demand responsive loads, or electric vehicles. Where these actors will actively participate in energy and auxiliary service markets, depending on their available or constrained energy needs. For this reason, the work presented in this Thesis deals with designing and implementing advanced hierarchical control solutions to renewable-based power plants with the purpose of achieving advanced grid conection performance while reaching maximum economic benefits from its optimum real-time operation. Initially, an extensive analysis on the main renewable-based power plant hierarchical control solutions currently on the shelf, is performed. This study not only covered the specific case of renewable-based power plants, but also advanced microgrid and smart grid control solutions. Once the main renewable-based power plant hierarchical solutions were analized, a novel Hierarchical Distributed Control Structure (HDCS) is proposed for increased management of renewable-based active distributed plants. This hierarchical control structure comprises all possible functional levels from the higher long-term economic scheduling layer, to the instantaneous supervisory control of the resource, emphasizing the entire operation and control functionalities needed for increasing the integration of active distributed power plants. In order to achieve real-time control capabilities in active distribution systems, the present thesis introduces a novel power sharing control strategy, based on the competitive operation of multiple active participating agents (distributed generators, demand response and energy storage systems) through the implementation of market rules. Such control capabilities are satisfied by applying a price control signal over the entire grid control architecture, being the final-end participating agent, the responsible entity in charge of deciding its own generation/demand involvement based on its marginal or affordable electricity costs. In addition, it reduces the information volume to be transmitted and processing requirements, as the higher control levels do not need to have knowledge on the detailed distribution system topology and contributing actors. In order to have a meaningful evaluation of the proposed competitive control capabilities, a wave power plant application has been selected, which constitutes a challenging scenario for the controller itself to achieve advanced real-time control capabilities in such an oscillating renewable energy resource. In order to suitably characterize the wave energy resource profile resulting from maximum energy absorption, this Thesis introduce a novel adaptive vector controller, which maximizes the energy extraction from the resource regardless of the dominant irregular wave frequency characteristics. For the specific wave power plant application considered, the competitive control does not only ensures real-time optimum resource allocation for satisfying a given production objective, but also provides optimum long term operation of the system. As a result, overall plant costs reductions can be achieved under the competitive operation, since the plant scheduled energy is satisfied by making use of the generation units with cheaper cumulative operation costsActualmente, el sector eléctrico se encuentra inmerso en un profundo proceso de restructuración, donde de cada vez más se tiende a generar energía a nivel de distribución, mediante el uso de generación no convencional/renovable. Estas nuevas tecnologías de generación, referidas como generación distribuida, no proporcionan unicamente una fuente de energía no-contaminante, barata y eficiente para cubrir el incremento de demanda, sinó que también pueden proporcionar seguridad de suministro a cargas críticas, así como reducir la necesidad de expansiones futuras de red. Además de las capacidades técnicas proporcionadas, la generación distribuida hará posible la integración masiva de sistemas de generación renovable, con nuevos tipos de cargas y usuarios finales, como prosumidores, cargas regulables, o vehiculos eléctricos, donde todos estos usuarios participaran activamente en mercados de energía y servicios auxiliares, dependiendo de sus requisitos de uso de energía. Por lo tanto, el trabajo realizado en esta tesis se centra en el diseño e implementación de soluciones jerárquicas de control avanzado en plantas de generación renovable, con el objetivo de obtener un comportamiento harmonioso de intercacción con la red, mientras la operación de la planta maximiza los beneficios derivados de su operación en tiempo real. Inicialmente, se ha llevado a cabo una revisión extensa sobre los sistemas de control jerárquico comunmente implementados en plantas de generación renovable, en microredes y en redes inteligentes. Una vez revisados los principales sistemas de control jerárquico en este tipo de aplicaciones, se propone un una novedosa estructura de control, que cubre todos los niveles de control posibles, desde el más alto nivel de gestión económica, hasta el control detallado del recurso de generación. Para lograr capacidades de control en tiempo real en sistemas activos de distribución, la presente tesis propone una nueva estrategia de control de reparto de potencia, basada en la operación competitiva de múltiples agentes participantes activos (generadores distribuidos, respuesta de demanda y sistemas de almacenamiento de energía) mediante la implementación de reglas del mercado. Dichas capacidades de control se satisfacen aplicando una señal de precio a lo largo de toda la arquitectura de control, siendo el agente de final, el ente responsable de decidir su propia participación en la generación/demanda en función de sus propios costes de electricidad marginales o asumibles. Además, reduce el volumen de información a transmitir y los requisitos de procesamiento de datos, ya que los niveles de control más altos no necesitan tener conocimiento sobre la topología del sistema de distribución detallado ni de la contribución de los actores adyacentes. Para llevar a cabo una evaluación significativa de las capacidades del controlador competitivo propuesto, se ha seleccionado una planta de generación undimotriz, como escenario más desfavorable, ya que el controlador debe asegurar un control estable de la potencia inyectada en un escenario altamente oscilante. Con el fin de caracterizar adecuadamente el perfil de recursos de energía de las olas resultante de la máxima absorción de energía, esta Tesis introduce un nuevo controlador de vector adaptativo, que maximiza la extracción de energía del recurso independientemente de las características dominantes de frecuencia de onda irregular. Para la aplicación de la planta de energía de onda específica considerada, el control competitivo no solo garantiza la asignación óptima de recursos en tiempo real para satisfacer un objetivo de producción dado, sino que también proporciona una operación óptima del sistema a largo plazo. Como resultado, se pueden lograr reducciones generales de los costos de la planta en el marco de la operación competitiva, ya que la energía programada de la planta se satisface haciendo uso de las unidad
3
Shams, Solary Arasto. "Wind power plants integration to the power grid." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för elektro- och systemteknik (EES), 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-200633.
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4
Newman, Guy. "Characterisation of virtual power plants." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2010. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/characterisation-of-virtual-power-plants(5e647750-5a44-40f0-8a33-763361d3a50b).html.
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The growing number of micro generation devices in the electrical network is leading many to consider that these devices can no longer be considered as fit and forget, but should instead be considered as having a demonstrable network impact which should be predicted and utilised. One of the techniques for considering the impacts of these devices is the Virtual Power Plant (VPP). The VPP is the aggregation of all the Distributed Generation (DG) connected into the network up to and including the connection voltage of the VPP, such that the cumulative power up the voltage levels can be seen in the single VPP unit, rather than across a broad spread of devices. One of the crucial tasks in characterising the VPP, developed in this work, is the ability to correctly predict and then aggregate the behaviour of several technology types which are weather driven, as a large proportion of DG is weather driven. Of this weather driven DG, some can only typically be dispatched with modification and the rest cannot be dispatched at all. The aggregation of the VPP as part of the electrical network is also developed, as the constraints of the network and the reliability of the network cannot be overlooked when considering the aggregation of the VPP. From a distribution network operator's (DNO) perspective, these characterisation models can be used to highlight problems in the network introduced by the addition of DG, but are also generally utilitarian in their role of predicting the power output (or negative load) found throughout the network due to DG. For a commercial agent interested in selling energy, these models allow for accurate predictions of energy to be determined for the trading period. A VPP agent would also be adversely affected by line failure in the network, leading to the development of an N-1 analysis based upon reliability rates of the network, which is used as the basis for a discussion on the impacts of single line failure and the mitigation available through feedback from the DNO.
5
Adu, James Amankwah <1990>. "Participation of wind power plants in power system stability." Doctoral thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2022. http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/10109/1/PhD_Thesis_Final.pdf.
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The integration of large amounts of wind power in power systems coupled with the increasing replacement of large conventional synchronous generators by wind power plants (WPPs) presents a considerable impact on power system stability. This is partly because most WPPs, particularly variable speed wind turbine (VSWT) types, are connected to the network via power converters which decouples their output power from the grid frequency, and this results in considerable loss of system inertia. Also, VSWTs are in general operated at the maximum power point tracking, which makes them unable to increase their output power beyond the maximum power level for long-term frequency support. For this reason, it is important to develop control techniques that enable WPPs to participate in power system stability improvement. In literature, several studies have been reported on the frequency control provision of a wind turbines (WT), mainly classified into two categories: inertial response (IR) and primary frequency response (PFR).
This work investigates the IR and PFR capabilities of VSWTs; the control schemes are presented in detail and the required energy buffers also discussed. For the IR, the electrostatic energy stored in the dc-link capacitors and the kinetic energy reserve of the WT rotors are utilised. The PFR service is guaranteed by a deloading scheme that reserves a portion of the maximum available power of the WT. Also, the possibility of providing both IR and PFR using external energy storage systems, in this work supercapacitors and battery energy storage system, has been considered. For each support scheme analysed, this work provides a comprehensive survey.
This dissertation further proposes two coordinated control strategies that exploits the full potential of VSWTs to participate in power system frequency response enhancement and small-signal stability support.
All the control schemes are developed and simulation studies performed on DIgSILENT PowerFactory simulation environment.
6
Huang, Aiping. "An investigation of coastal fumigation effects on nuclear accident consequences in Hong Kong /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1996. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B17537149.
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Hassan, Mohamed Elhafiz. "Power Plant Operation Optimization : Unit Commitment of Combined Cycle Power Plants Using Machine Learning and MILP." Thesis, mohamed-ahmed@siemens.com, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-395304.
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In modern days electric power systems, the penetration of renewable resources and the introduction of free market principles have led to new challenges facing the power producers and regulators. Renewable production is intermittent which leads to fluctuations in the grid and requires more control for regulators, and the free market principle raises the challenge for power plant producers to operate their plants in the most profitable way given the fluctuating prices. Those problems are addressed in the literature as the Economic Dispatch, and they have been discussed from both regulator and producer view points. Combined Cycle Power plants have the privileges of being dispatchable very fast and with low cost which put them as a primary solution to power disturbance in grid, this fast dispatch-ability also allows them to exploit price changes very efficiently to maximize their profit, and this sheds the light on the importance of prices forecasting as an input for the profit optimization of power plants. In this project, an integrated solution is introduced to optimize the dispatch of combined cycle power plants that are bidding for electricity markets, the solution is composed of two models, the forecasting model and the optimization model. The forecasting model is flexible enough to forecast electricity and fuel prices for different markets and with different forecasting horizons. Machine learning algorithms were used to build and validate the model, and data from different countries were used to test the model. The optimization model incorporates the forecasting model outputs as inputs parameters, and uses other parameters and constraints from the operating conditions of the power plant as well as the market in which the plant is selling. The power plant in this mode is assumed to satisfy different demands, each of these demands have corresponding electricity price and cost of energy not served. The model decides which units to be dispatched at each time stamp to give out the maximum profit given all these constraints, it also decides whether to satisfy all the demands or not producing part of each of them.
8
Squillaci, Carmen. "Gestione dell’energia in Virtual Power Plants." Master's thesis, Alma Mater Studiorum - Università di Bologna, 2017.
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I confini delle risorse di energia distribuita sono in continua espansione negli ultimi anni con conseguenti cambiamenti nella gestione ottimizzata di energia nelle Smart Grid per soddisfare la domanda di energia, apportare miglioramenti alle condizioni ambientali e minimizzare i prezzi. Per raggiungere questo obiettivo si utilizza un Virtual Power Plant con al suo interno un gestore di energia che coordina le unit`a distribuite relative al sistema di energia elettrico. Questo lavoro di tesi sviluppa un modello per la gestione energetica all’interno di un Virtual Power Plant per decidere come e con quali fonti energetiche soddisfare la domanda di energia elettrica. Le decisioni riguardanti le quantita` ed il tipo di risorse energetiche utilizzate ad intervalli orari nell’arco di una giornata avvengono dinamicamente e dipendono da fattori variabili provenienti dalla disponibilit`a delle risorse di energia rinnovabili, dal costo dell’energia elettrica acquistata dalla rete esterna, dal costo del diesel, dai carichi associati ad utenze domestiche e dalla possibilit`a di immagazzinare o rilasciare energia all’interno dell’unit`a di storage. La soluzione `e calcolata mediante l’utilizzo di una funzione costo minimizzata la quale prende in considerazione solo i costi diretti relativi all’impianto VPP. Le conclusioni teoriche e le aspettative sono verificate mediante una simulazione di uno scenario reale.
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Cebeci, Mahmut Erkut. "The Effects Of Hydro Power Plants." Master's thesis, METU, 2008. http://etd.lib.metu.edu.tr/upload/12609282/index.pdf.
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This thesis proposes a method and develops a mathematical model for determining the effects of hydro power plants&rsquogovernor settings on the Turkish power system frequency. The Turkish power system suffers from frequency oscillations with 20 &ndash
30 seconds period. Besides various negative effects on power plants and customers, these frequency oscillations are one of the most important obstacles before the interconnection of the Turkish power system with the UCTE (Union for the Coordination of Transmission of Electricity) network. Taking observations of the system operators and statistical studies as an initial point, the effects of hydro power plants&rsquo
governor settings on the Turkish power system frequency are investigated. In order to perform system wide simulations, initially mathematical models for two major hydro power plants and their stability margins are determined. Utilizing this information a representative power system model is developed. After validation studies, the effects of hydro power plants&rsquo
governor settings on the Turkish power system frequency are investigated. Further computer simulations are performed to determine possible effects of changing settings and structure of HPP governors to system frequency stability. Finally, further factors that may have negative effects on frequency oscillations are discussed. The results of study are presented throughout the thesis and summarized in the &ldquo
Conclusion and Future Work&rdquo
chapter.
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Fillman, Benny. "System studies of MCFC power plants." Licentiate thesis, Stockholm, 2005. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-419.
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Banerjee, Bhattacharya Asmita. "Project financing power plants in Mexico." Thesis, McGill University, 2002. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=78201.
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Project finance is a debt finance and risk allocation technique. In Mexico, contracts of this nature mostly arise as a result of a government procurement process. In such projects, there is a limited amount of freedom for the negotiation of the contractual terms and conditions.Contracts for the engineering, procurement and construction of power plants implemented under the project finance structure are subject to the ordinary law of contracts as opposed to the administrative law which may place the government in a stronger bargaining position. Regardless of the application of the private or administrative law the principle of autonomy of will may seem to be relegated to a secondary level in these transactions. Given this aspect it is interesting to evaluate what role the parties play in negotiating the contract in order to establish whether freedom of contract is a mere fiction in such transactions.
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Moumakwa, Donald Omphemetse. "Tribology in coal-fired power plants." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2005. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/16616.
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Includes bibliographical references (pages 90-94).A series of alumina ceramics and silicon carbide (SiC) particulate composites were evaluated in terms of their erosive and abrasive wear behaviour under different conditions, with the aim of reducing wear damage in power plants. The alumina ceramics tested ranged in composition from 90% alumina to 97% alumina content. A nitride fired and an oxide fired SiC particulate composites were also tested for comparison. The impact angle, impact velocity, as well as particle size and type were varied for solid-partide erosion, whereas effects of the applied load, abrasive speed and type of abrasive were studied for abrasive wear. The target materials were also evaluated in terms of morphology and mechanical properties including hardness, flexural modulus and flexural strengths. The erosion rates of the tested alumina ceramics increase with an increase in the impact angle, reaching a maximum at 90°. The high purity 96% alumina dry-pressed body has the best erosion resistance at most impact angles, while the 92% alumina dry pressed body has the worst erosion resistance. The erosion rates also increased with an increase in particle impact velocity, resulting in a velocity exponent (n) value of 1.5. A decrease in the erosion rate was observed for both an increase in particle size range and a decrease in erodent partide hardness. At all angles of impact, solid partide erosion of the target materials is dominated by intergranular fracture and surfaces are typically characterized by erosion pits. The five alumina target materials also show a marked increase in erosion rates when the test temperature is increased from ambient to 150°C. The abrasive wear rates for the materials increased with both applied load and abrasive speed, owing to increased tribological stresses at the contacting asperities. There is also a general trend of increasing abrasion resistance with increasing alumina content. Severe wear, characterized by fracture and grain pullout, is the dominant mechanism of material removal during abrasive wear. This was accompanied by the formation of grooves on the wear surfaces. Although this study was successful in terms of material selection for wear damage reduction in power plants, it also highlighted significant factors and modifications that might need to be considered in future studies.
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Clarke, Joshua. "Optimal design of geothermal power plants." VCU Scholars Compass, 2014. http://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/3472.
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The optimal design of geothermal power plants across the entire spectrum of meaningful geothermal brine temperatures and climates is investigated, while accounting for vital real-world constraints that are typically ignored in the existing literature. The constrained design space of both double-flash and binary geothermal power plants is visualized, and it is seen that inclusion of real-world constraints is vital to determining the optimal feasible design of a geothermal power plant. The effect of varying condenser temperature on optimum plant performance and optimal design specifications is analyzed. It is shown that condenser temperature has a significant effect on optimal plant design as well. The optimum specific work output and corresponding optimal design of geothermal power plants across the entire range of brine temperatures and condenser temperatures is illustrated and tabulated, allowing a scientifically sound assessment of both feasibility and appropriate plant design under any set of conditions. The performance of genetic algorithms and particle swarm optimization are compared with respect to the constrained, non-linear, simulation-based optimization of a prototypical geothermal power plant, and particle swarm optimization is shown to perform significantly better than genetic algorithms. The Pareto-optimal front of specific work output and specific heat exchanger area is visualized and tabulated for binary and double-flash plants across the full range of potential geothermal brine inlet conditions and climates, allowing investigation of the specific trade-offs required between specific work output and specific heat exchanger area. In addition to the novel data, this dissertation research illustrates the development and use of a sophisticated analysis tool, based on multi-objective particle swarm optimization, for the optimal design of geothermal power plants.
14
Pyy, Pekka. "Human reliability analysis methods for probabilistic safety assessment /." Espoo [Finland] : Technical Research Centre of Finland, 2000. http://www.vtt.fi/inf/pdf/publications/2000/P422.pdf.
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Avapak, Sukunta. "Failure mode analysis on concentrated solar power (CSP) plants : a case study on solar tower power plant." Thesis, Queensland University of Technology, 2016. https://eprints.qut.edu.au/102375/1/Sukunta_Avapak_Thesis.pdf.
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This thesis is an investigation of critical failure modes of solar tower power system in concentrated solar power (CSP) technology. The thesis evaluated the causes and impacts of failure on the major components and apply the failure Mode and Effect Analysis (FMEA) to CSP solar tower system. This research proposed an alternative method to overcome the limitations of Risk Priority Number (RPN) from traditional FMEA. A case study applies the proposed approach to CSP solar tower system for a better prioritization of failure mode in order to reduce the risk of failures.
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Yeung, Hon-chung. "Clean technology advancement in the power industry /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1997. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B18734765.
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Kivisaari, Timo. "System Studies of Fuel Cell Power Plants." Doctoral thesis, KTH, Chemical Engineering and Technology, 2001. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-3226.
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This thesis concerns system studies of power plants wheredifferent types of fuel cells accomplish most of the energyconversion.
Ever since William Grove observed the fuel cell effect inthe late 1830s fuel cells have been the subject or more or lessintense research and development. Especially in the USA theseactivities intensified during the second part of the 1950s,resulting in the development of the fuel cells used in theApollo-program. Swedish fuel cell activities started in themid-1960s, when ASEA (now ABB) ran a fuel cell projectdeveloping fuel cells to power submarines.
When the then project manager, Olle Lindström, wasappointed professor of Chemical Technology at KTH, the fuelcell activities at KTH were initiated, these activities havesince then been pursued at varying levels of intensity.
The fuel cell development experienced a recession during thelatter part of the 1970s and early 1980s, only to bere-vitalised during the 1990s as the full potential of theadvantages of environmental benefits and efficiency wereidentified.
System studies and process simulation utilising differentcomputer software programs may be used to study the behaviourand characteristics of fuel cells and their supportsystems.
Paper I describes the characteristics of a naturalgas-fuelled fuel cell power plant using alkaline fuel cells,both regarding efficiency and economics.
In paper II, a benchmark study of three different types ofsimulation software is presented. Theintention was to clarifyhow the selection of software might influence the resultsobtained, and some of the associated possible pitfalls.
Paper III presents a study of a fuel cell power plant wherethe primary source of energy is biomass (wood chips), which viahigh-pressure gasification and subsequent gas cleaning is madeavailable for conversion into electricity and heat by moltencarbonate fuel cells.
The last paper, paper IV, presents a s system study of ahigh-temperature fuel cell system, where the primary fuel iscoal, which through gasification is converted into a gaseousform. This study was a vital part of an EU-project studying thetechnical and economical feasibility of such systems.
Keywords: fuel cells, fuel cell systems, system studies,process simulation, system analysis, alkaline fuel cells,high-temperature fuel cells.
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Dugstad, Tore, and Esben Tonning Jensen. "CO2 Capture from Coal fired Power Plants." Thesis, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Department of Energy and Process Engineering, 2008. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-9770.
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Coal is the most common fossil resource for power production worldwide and generates 40% of the worlds total electricity production. Even though coal is considered a pollutive resource, the great amounts and the increasing power demand leads to extensive use even in new developed power plants. To cover the world's future energy demand and at the same time limit our effect on global warming, coal fired power plants with CO2 capture is probably a necessity. An Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) Power Plant is a utilization of coal which gives incentives for CO2 capture. Coal is partially combusted in a reaction with steam and pure oxygen. The oxygen is produced in an air separation process and the steam is generated in the Power Island. Out of the gasifier comes a mixture of mainly H2 and CO. In a shift reactor the CO and additional steam are converted to CO2 and more H2. Carbon dioxide is separated from the hydrogen in a physical absorption process and compressed for storage. Hydrogen diluted with nitrogen from the air separation process is used as fuel in a combined cycle similar to NGCC. A complete IGCC Power Plant is described in this report. The air separation unit is modeled as a Linde two column process. Ambient air is compressed and cooled to dew point before it is separated into oxygen and nitrogen in a cryogenic distillation process. Out of the island oxygen is at a purity level of 95.6% and the nitrogen has a purity of 99.6%. The production cost of oxygen is 0.238 kWh per kilogram of oxygen delivered at 25°C and 1.4bar. The oxygen is then compressed to a gasification pressure of 42bar. In the gasification unit the oxygen together with steam is used to gasify the coal. On molar basis the coal composition is 73.5% C, 22.8% H2, 3.1% O2, 0.3% N2 and 0.3% S. The gasification temperature is at 1571°C and out of the unit comes syngas consisting of 66.9% CO, 31.1% H2, 1.4% H2O, 0.3% N2, 0.2% H2S and 0.1% CO2. The syngas is cooled and fed to a water gas shift reactor. Here the carbon monoxide is reacted with steam forming carbon dioxide and additional hydrogen. The gas composition of the gas out of the shift reactor is on dry basis 58.2% H2, 39.0% CO2, 2.4% CO, 0.2% N2 and 0.1% H2S. Both the gasification process and shift reactor is exothermal and there is no need of external heating. This leads to an exothermal heat loss, but parts of this heat is recovered. The gasifier has a Cold Gas Efficiency (CGE) of 84.0%. With a partial pressure of CO2 at 15.7 bar the carbon dioxide is easily removed by physical absorption. After separation the solvent is regenerated by expansion and CO2 is pressurized to 110bar to be stored. This process is not modeled, but for the scrubbing part an energy consumption of 0.08kWh per kilogram CO2 removed is assumed. For the compression of CO2, it is calculated with an energy consumption of 0.11kWh per kilogram CO2 removed. Removal of H2S and other pollutive unwanted substances is also removed in the CO2 scrubber. Between the CO2 removal and the combustion chamber is the H2 rich fuel gas is diluted with nitrogen from the air separation unit. This is done to increase the mass flow through the turbine. The amount of nitrogen available is decided by the amount of oxygen produced to the gasification process. Almost all the nitrogen produced may be utilized as diluter except from a few percent used in the coal feeding procedure to the gasifier. The diluted fuel gas has a composition of 50.4% H2, 46.1% N2, 2.1% CO and 1.4% CO2. In the Power Island a combined cycle with a gas turbine able to handle large H2 amounts is used. The use of steam in the gasifier and shift reactor are integrated in the heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) in the steam cycle. The heat removed from the syngas cooler is also recovered in the HRSG. The overall efficiency of the IGCC plant modeled is 36.8%. This includes oxygen and nitrogen production and compression, production of high pressure steam used in the Gasification Island, coal feeding costs, CO2 removal and compression and pressure losses through the processes. Other losses are not implemented and will probably reduce the efficiency.
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Gibbons, Jonathan S. (Jonathan Scott) 1979, and Stephen V. 1982 Samouhos. "Mobile power plants : waste body heat recovery." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/32814.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (S.B.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2004.Includes bibliographical references.
Novel methods to convert waste metabolic heat into useful and useable amounts of electricity were studied. Thermoelectric, magneto hydrodynamic, and piezo-electric energy conversions at the desired scope were evaluated to understand their role and utility in the efficient conversion of waste body heat. The piezo-electric generator holds the most promise for the efficient conversion of waste body heat into electricity. In the future, this same device could be easily extended into a combustion based power plant. An experimental apparatus investigating the use of magneto hydrodynamics was designed, built, and tested. A room temperature liquid inetal was propelled through a magneto hydrodynamic channel of 4 inches by 0.1875 inches at a rate of 10 mL/s. A 2 T induction field was applied within the channel. However, the results of the analysis did not find the magneto hydrodynamic device to be an effective electric generator at the scale tested.
by Jonathan S. Gibbons and Stephen V. Samouhos.
S.B.
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Yunt, Mehmet 1975. "Steam temperature regulation in fossil power plants." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/89876.
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Rutberg, Michael J. (Michael Jacob). "Modeling water use at thermoelectric power plants." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/74674.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 2012.This electronic version was submitted by the student author. The certified thesis is available in the Institute Archives and Special Collections.
Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (p. 74-77).
The withdrawal and consumption of water at thermoelectric power plants affects regional ecology and supply security of both water and electricity. The existing field data on US power plant water use, however, is of limited granularity and poor quality, hampering efforts to track industry trends and project future scenarios. Furthermore, there is a need for a common quantitative framework on which to evaluate the effects of various technologies on water use at power plants. To address these deficiencies, Part 1 of this thesis develops an analytical system-level generic model (SGEM) of water use at power plants. The S-GEM applies to fossil, nuclear, geothermal and solar thermal plants, using either steam or combined cycles, and outputs water withdrawal and consumption intensity, in liters per megawatt-hour. Two validations of the S-GEM are presented, one against data from the literature for a variety of generation types, the other against field data from coal plants in South Africa. Part 2 of the thesis then focuses on cooling systems, by far the largest consumers of water in most power plants. The water consumption of different cooling systems is placed on a common quantitative basis, enabling direct comparison of water consumption between cooling system types, and examination of the factors that affect water consumption within each cooling system type. The various cost, performance, and environmental impact tradeoffs associated with once-through, pond, wet tower, dry, and hybrid cooling technologies are qualitatively reviewed. Part 3 examines cooling of concentrating solar power (CSP) plants, which presents particular problems: the plants generate high waste heat loads, are usually located in water-scarce areas, and are typically on the margin of economic viability. A case study is conducted to explore the use of indirect dry cooling with cold-side thermal energy storage, in which cooling water is chilled and stored at night, when ambient temperatures are lower and the plant is inactive, and then used the following day. This approach is shown to hold promise for reducing the capital, operational, and performance costs of dry cooling for CSP.
by Michael J. Rutberg.
S.M.
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Mirmohammadi, Sadra. "Organizational learning in Shahid Rajaei power plants." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.626861.
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This thesis is a study in organizational learning in the context of electrical power industry in Iran. Its focus is on the Shahid Rajaei (SRPP) power plant which was the first plant to be constructed and brought on line through a non-turnkey arrangement. All previous power plants had been constructed through total reliance on turnkey agreements with foreign contractors. The managerial, financial and technical demands of the SRPP were very large and complex compared with existing capabilities. The question that the thesis addresses is whether, through the experience of the SRPP, 'organizational learning' took place. We address this question by first conducting a thorough review and discussion of existing literatures on organizational learning. The literature review revolves around questions such as:'what is organizational learning?'; 'how does it happen?' what individual and organizational features promote organizational learning?' and 'what is the role of management in organizational learning?' . Thus the literature yields a number features and attributes against which the experience of SRPP and subsequent power plant projects would be assessed. In carrying out this assessment, the thesis employs a multi-methodology approach. Case studies of SRPP and two subsequent projects were conducted. These case studies employ personal diaries (with respect to SRPP); documents and archives and face-to face interviews with many senior managers, all of whom had been or were( at the time of research) working for the projects. We also employed questionnaire surveys amongst several hundreds managers and employees who had been or were then working for the projects. The survey instruments were various learning attribute scales such as 'learning styles' and 'learning strategies'. The findings of the research are that the SRPP experience was one of significant organizational learning and that this learning was transferred, adapted and developed in subsequent projects. The significance of the findings and their contributions to knowledge as well as the various implications and limitations of the research conclude the thesis.
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Tamadon, Nahal. "Specification and Classification of Wind Power Plants." Thesis, KTH, Skolan för elektro- och systemteknik (EES), 2016. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-200628.
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Parvareh, Forough. "Solar Repowering of PCC-retrofitted Power Plants." Thesis, The University of Sydney, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/2123/15473.
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The integration of concentrated solar thermal technology with PCC-retrofitted power plants has the potential to recover the power plant penalty while capturing carbon through the PCC plant. The main contribution of this thesis is showcasing such synergy between solar and PCC-retrofitted power plants through development of a model investigating the solar plant dynamic behaviour and response to external disturbances including climatic changes for the Australian context. Firstly, the potential of solar thermal and/or power energy to compensate for both PCC penalties is investigated. The mode of integrated solar energy with the PCC-retrofitted power plant and the integration point in the superstructure, result in a number of possible configurations among which, three are shown to have a higher potential to meet the operational objective, maintaining the original output rate while PCC is operating. The basic sizing data, a preliminary size of each configuration, operational capability and complexity level involved in the integration of each configuration are established. A limitation was faced in assessing the performance of each option using levelised cost of energy due to the lack of a dynamic profile of high-pressure side feed water preheaters of the PCC-retrofitted power plant. Additionally, a dynamic study on the superstructure was required using the annual dynamic profile of PCC load requirements, carbon price and power demand. Despite these, this work has shown near optimal values for solar multiple and number of full load hours of thermal storage for each configuration. These results are used to select one option for a dynamic model. A comprehensive dynamic study is performed on Option 2 using TRNSYS modelling package. The main operating and control schemes are identified and details of the modelling are provided followed by an analysis of performance results and conclusion and a note for future directions.
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Cottam, P. J. "Innovation in solar thermal chimney power plants." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 2018. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10045417/.
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This thesis analyses novel technology for renewable electricity generation: the solar thermal chimney (STC) power plant and the suspended chimney (SC) as a plant component. The STC consists of a solar collector, a tall chimney located at the centre of the collector, and turbines and generators at the base of the chimney. Air heated in the collector rises up the chimney under buoyancy and generates power in the turbines. STCs have the potential to generate large amounts of power, but research is required to improve their economic viability. A state-of-the-art STC model was developed, focussing on accurate simulation of collector thermodynamics, and providing data on flow characteristics and plant performance. It was used to explore power generation for matched component dimensions, where for given chimney heights, a range of chimney and collector radii were investigated. Matched dimensions are driven by the collector thermal components approaching thermal equilibrium. This analysis was complemented with a simple cost model to identify the most cost-effective STC configurations. The collector canopy is an exceptionally large structure. Many of the designs proposed in the literature are either complex to manufacture or limit performance. This thesis presents and analyses a series of novel canopy profiles which are easier to manufacture and can be incorporated with little loss in performance. STC chimneys are exceptionally tall slender structures and supporting their self-weight is difficult. This thesis proposes to re-design the chimney as a fabric structure, held aloft with lighter-than-air gas. The performance of initial, small scale suspended chimney prototypes under lateral loading was investigated experimentally to assess the response to wind loads. A novel method of stiffening is proposed and design of larger prototypes developed. The economic viability of a commercial-scale suspended chimney was investigated, yielding cost reductions compared to conventional chimney designs.
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Miranda, Gilda. "Dispatch Optimizer for Concentrated Solar Power Plants." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Byggteknik och byggd miljö, 2020. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-402436.
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Concentrating solar power (CSP) plant is a promising technology that exploits direct normal irradiation (DNI) from the sun to be converted into thermal energy in the solar field. One of the advantages of CSP technology is the possibility to store thermal energy in thermal energy storage (TES) for later production of electricity. The integration of thermal storage allows the CSP plant to be a dispatchable system which is defined as having a capability to schedule its operation using an innovative dispatch planning tool. Considering weather forecast and electricity price profile in the market, dispatch planning tool uses an optimization algorithm. It aims to shift the schedule of electricity delivery to the hours with high electricity price. These hours are usually reflected by the high demand periods. The implementation of dispatch optimizer can benefit the CSP plants economically from the received financial revenues. This study proposes an optimization of dispatch planning strategies for the parabolic trough CSP plant under two dispatch approaches: solar driven and storage driven. The performed simulation improves the generation of electricity which reflects to the increase of financial revenue from the electricity sale in both solar and storage driven approaches. Moreover, the optimization also proves to reduce the amount of dumped thermal energy from the solar field.
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Benato, A. "Power plants behaviour during transient operating conditions." Doctoral thesis, Università degli studi di Padova, 2015. http://hdl.handle.net/11577/3423908.
Full textAbstract:
System dynamic modelling and simulation is becoming a powerful and essential design tool. For this reason, this Ph.D. Thesis is devoted to analyse the transient operation conditions’ effects using power plant dynamic models.
In the first part of this dissertation, the dynamic analysis is the core of a procedure developed to predict lifetime reduction on traditional power plant devices. In particular, the plant dynamic model, and its capability of evaluating the trends of
the main thermodynamic parameters, which describe the plant operation during transient conditions, is the base point to identify the most stressed plant devices.
Being fundamental the role played by combined cycle power plants in the liberalized electricity market scenario, a combined cycle power plant is selected as test case. The dynamic model of a single pressure combined cycle power unit is built and the proposed procedure is tested. The results show that the procedure can be considered as a valuable innovative tool to assist power plant designers and operators in order to improve the plant’s flexibility without excessively compromising the integrity of devices subjected to high thermo-mechanical stresses.
The second part of this work underlines the essential role played by the dynamic analysis during the design phase of innovative small-medium size waste heat recovery units on isolated grid. In particular, after a design optimization process, the dynamic behaviour of gas turbines coupled with waste heat recovery units
(ORC, SRC and ABC power units) is tested to verify the grid stability and, in the case of an ORC unit, the working fluid thermochemical stability.
In conclusion, in this dissertation, two different software tools are proposed. In both cases the core is the plant dynamic model. The first tool is able to predict the plant thermodynamic variables and compute the components lifetime reduction
caused by load changes while the second one performs a design and optimization of different waste heat recovery units for stand-alone offshore facilities. The entire plant is then dynamically analysed in order to verify the grid stability and, in the
case of ORC unit, the working fluid thermochemical stability.La simulazione dinamica sta diventando uno strumento sempre più potente ed essenziale sia nella fase di design che durante il processo di ottimizzazione e gestione dei sistemi di produzione dell’energia. Da questa nuova necessità è nata l’idea di studiare gli effetti indotti dalle variazioni di carico sui componenti che costituiscono gli impianti energetici. A tal fine si devono sviluppare dei modelli di impianto in grado di simulare il comportamento dinamico del sistema in esame. Nella prima parte di questo elaborato, l’analisi dinamica è il cuore di una procedura integrata sviluppata allo scopo di prevedere la riduzione di vita utile dei componenti maggiormente sollecitati degli impianti termoelettrici. In particolare, il modello dinamico dell’impianto, capace di simulare l’andamento delle principali grandezze termodinamiche e quindi il comportamento del sistema durante le variazioni di carico, è l’elemento centrale della procedura poichè consente di identificare i componenti maggiormente soggetti a fenomeni di stress derivante da fatica termo-meccanica. Dato che gli impianti a ciclo combinato sono la tecnologia attualmente più efficiente e maggiormente diffusa tra i produttori di energia operanti nel mercato liberalizzato della produzione, il caso studio selezionato per testare la procedura sviluppata è proprio un impianto a ciclo combinato a singolo livello di pressione. I risultati ottenuti dimostrano che la procedura è un metodo innovativo in grado di assistere sia i progettisti che gli operatori degli impianti poiché in grado di simulare il comportamento dinamico del sistema e fornire indicazioni fondamentali sugli effetti indotti dall'esercizio flessibile. Tuttavia, l’analisi dinamica riveste un ruolo centrale anche nel caso di progettazione di impianti medio-piccoli di recupero del calore di scarto. Questi impianti vengono generalmente impiegati per incrementare le prestazioni del sistema e ridurre contestualmente i consumi di combustibile e le emissioni inquinanti rilasciate in atmosfera. La seconda parte di questo elaborato si focalizza quindi sull'utilizzo e l’integrazione dell’analisi dinamica nel processo di design e gestione degli impianti di piccola potenza inseriti in reti stand-alone di piattaforme oil and gas. In particolare, dopo l’individuazione del case study (impianto costituito da tre turbine a gas in ciclo semplice) ed una fase di studio delle possibili configurazioni (tre turbine a gas alternativamente affiancate da differenti sistemi di recupero: ABC, SRC, ORC), differenti tipologie di impianto sono state progettate utilizzando una ottimizzazione multi-obiettivo. A partire da questi dati di design, sono stati costruiti i modelli dinamici delle diverse configurazioni di impianto al fine di verificare la stabilità della rete elettrica e, nel caso di un sistema di recupero basato sulla tecnologia ORC, del fluido termovettore impiegato nel ciclo sottoposto. In conclusione, nella presente tesi di dottorato vengono sviluppati due differenti computer tools. In entrambi i casi il cuore è costituito dal modello dinamico dell’impianto di produzione dell’energia. Nel primo tool software è implementata una procedura innovativa sviluppata con lo scopo di simulare il comportamento dell’impianto durante le variazioni di carico, predire il trend delle principali grandezze termodinamiche, individuare i componenti maggiormente sollecitati e calcolare la riduzione di vita utile indotta sui componenti. Il secondo tool, invece, realizza prima una progettazione ottimizzata di differenti tipologie di unità di recupero del calore di scarto per stand-alone offshore facilities. Quindi, il comportamento dinamico dell’impianto viene simulato in maniera tale da verificare la stabilità della rete elettrica e, nel caso di una unità ORC, la stabilità termochimica del fluido operativo di ciclo.
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Rule, James Arthur. "A strategy for modeling hydroelectric plants and improving their performance." Diss., This resource online, 1988. http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-07282008-135937/.
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Rask, Raschel A. "Assessing the needs of nuclear security personnel." Menomonie, WI : University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2005. http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2005/2005raskr.pdf.
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Hakobyan, Aram P. "Severe accident analysis using dynamic accident progression event trees." Columbus, Ohio : Ohio State University, 2006. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc%5Fnum=osu1158672136.
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Simola, Kaisa. "Reliability methods in nuclear power plant ageing management /." Espoo [Finland] : Technical Research Centre of Finland, 1999. http://www.vtt.fi/inf/pdf/publications/1999/P379.pdf.
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Montenegro, León Alejandro. "Advanced power electronic for wind-power generation buffering." [Gainesville, Fla.] : University of Florida, 2005. http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/UFE0010112.
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Baker, Jeffery K. Terhune Jeffery S. "The effects of strobe light and sound behavioral deterrent systems on impingement of aquatic organisms at Plant Barry, Alabama." Auburn, Ala, 2008. http://repo.lib.auburn.edu/EtdRoot/2008/FALL/Fisheries_and_Allied_Aquacultures/Thesis/Baker_Jeffery_24.pdf.
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Sharma, Deva-Datta. "A knowledge based framework for procedure synthesis and its application to the emergency response in a nuclear power plant /." The Ohio State University, 1986. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1487267546982557.
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Beltran, San Segundo Hector. "Energy storage systems integration into PV power plants." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/77922.
Full textAbstract:
The boom experienced by renewable sources in recent years has changed their consideration as a marginal component of the electrical system mix into a major player with an important role in the demand coverage in many countries. Regarding the PV technology, its weight within the electrical systems in countries such as Germany, Spain and Japan suggests that integration problems may arise if the current installation trends are maintained. Most of these problems are connected to one of its main handicaps: its stochasticity and its high level of intermittency, both characteristics clearly dependent on weather.
This work is dedicated to the analysis of one possible solution to achieve a higher penetration rate of the photovoltaic technology in the grid which is, according to the literature, the introduction of an energy storage system in parallel with PV plants. The ultimate objective in the study reported in this Thesis dissertation is to provide PV power plants with the ability to generate solar energy in a controlled and, if possible, constant way so that these could access both the day and intraday electricity markets.
The analysis of the storage system characteristics , focusing the interest on the amount of energy and power that this system would require when operating the photovoltaic plant in accordance with a specific energy management strategy while avoiding saturations, requires a good knowledge of solar resource. At present, there has not been any major and exhaustive campaign to measure the radiation with sampling periods below 15 minutes. Therefore, the solar resource can only be estimated by using statistically-based data and weighted averages. These data come from sources in the space (satellites) and from meteorological stations in the Earth's surface. This work uses information extracted from one of the most accepted solar radiation databases, the PVGIS database developed by the European Union. Moreover, real data measured in a particular place in the south of the Iberian Peninsula, where the analysis of the energy storage requirements has been centered, are also used. Both data sets have been cross validated in order to verify their credibility and agreement degree.
On the other hand, there are multiple energy storage technologies that can be currently identified as potential candidates to be included in photovoltaic power plants to integrate future hybrid plants with controlled production. A review of these technologies, along with a description of their main features highlighting their strengths and limitations, is included in this Thesis work. Using the comparison as a method, which has been performed considering various factors associated to the storage technology itself (geographical dependence, state of development, energy and power rated levels achieved by each technology) but also taking into account the operation conditions at which the storage will be subject in a photovoltaic power plant, one technology is highlighted as the candidate to be used in this application.
Finally, this Thesis proposes various energy management strategies to control power production in photovoltaic power plants integrating an energy storage system. Some of these strategies are directed to incorporate the plant to the electricity market while others simply pretend to reduce the variability of the production. For each of them, an estimate of the energy storage system required energy capacity has been obtained. These estimates allow having a rough approximation of the energy requirements, as well as an estimate of the additional cost, that this solution would imply. Among the various energy management configurations proposed, some of them provide results technically feasible on the one hand and, on the other hand, also interesting outcomes from an economic point of view, as the regulatory framework governing the electricity markets becomes gradually adapted to the new and evolving reality of the electric power system.
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Díaz-González, Francisco. "Contributions of flywheel systems in wind power plants." Doctoral thesis, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10803/129688.
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The stepwise replacement of conventional power plants by renewable-based ones such as wind power plants could a ect the system behaviour and planning. First, the network stability may be compromised as it becomes less resilient against sudden changes in the loads or generator trips. This is because wind turbines are not synchronized with network frequency but they are usually connected to the grid through fast controllable electronic power converters. And second, due to the stochastic nature of wind, the electrical power generated by wind power plants is neither constant non controllable. This aff ects the network planning as the expected generation level depends
on non reliable wind forecasts. Also it aff ects the power quality as the fast fluctuations of wind power can cause harmonics and flicker emissions.
For these reasons, network operators gradually set up more stringent requirements for the grid integration of wind power. These regulations require wind power plants to behave in several aspects as conventional synchronized generating units. Among other requirements, it is set the provision of some ancillary services to the grid as frequency and voltage control, the capability of withstanding short-circuits and faults, and to respect some threshold level with regard to the quality of the power generated.
Accordingly, energy storage systems may play an important role in wind power applications by enhancing the controllability of the output of wind power plants and providing ancillary services to the power system and thus, enabling an increased penetration of wind power in the system.
This thesis focuses on the potential uses of flywheel energy storage systems in wind power. The thesis introduces the basis of several energy storage systems as well as identi es their applications in wind power based on an extensive literature review. It follows with the presentation of the design and setting up of a scale-lab flywheel-based energy storage system. From this work, research concentrates on the application of flywheel devices for power smoothing of wind power plants. The developed concepts are proved by simulations but also experimentally using the above mentioned scale-lab test bench. In particular, research focuses on the de nition of an optimization criteria for the operation of flywheel devices while smoothing the wind power, and the design and experimental validation of the proposed control
algorithms of the storage device.
The last chapters of the thesis research on the role of wind power plants in system frequency control support. In this sense, an extensive literature review on the network operator's requirements for the participation of wind power plants in system frequency control related-tasks is off ered. Also, this review covers the proposed control methods in the literature for enabling wind turbines to participate in system frequency control. The results of this work open the door to the design of control systems of wind turbines and wind power plants for primary frequency control. The contribution of flywheel devices is also considered.
Results highlight the tremendous potential of energy storage systems in general for facilitating the grid integration of wind power plants. Regarding the uses of flywheel devices, it is worth noting that some of their characteristics as the high-ramp power rates can be exploited for reducing the variability of the power generated by wind turbines, and thus for improving the quality of the power injected to the grid by wind power plants. Also, they can support wind power plants to ful l the requirements for their participation in system frequency control support related tasks.El progressiu despla cament de plantes de generaci o convencionals per part de plantes de generaci o de tipus renovable, com els parcs e olics, pot afectar el comportament i la plani caci o del sistema el ectric. Primer, l'estabilitat pot ser compromesa ja que el sistema el ectric resulta m es vulnerable davant canvis abruptes provocats per les c arregues del sistema o desconnexions no programades de generadors. Aix o es degut a que les turbines e oliques no estan sincronitzades amb la freqü encia el ectrica del sistema ja que la seva connexi o es a trav es de convertidors electr onics de pot encia. Segon, degut a la gran variabilitat del vent, la pot encia el ectrica generada per les turbines e oliques no es constant ni controlable. En aquest sentit, la qualitat de la pot encia del parc e olic es pot veure compromesa, ja que es poden detectar nivells apreciables d'harm onics i emissions de "flicker" degudes a les r apides variacions de la pot encia generada pel parc e olic. Per aquests motius, els operadors dels sistemes el ectrics fan gradualment m es restrictius els requeriments de connexi o dels parcs e olics al sistema el ectric. Aquestes regulacions requereixen als parcs e olics que es comportin en molts aspectes com plantes de generaci o convencional. Entre d'altres requeriments, els parcs e olics han de proveir serveis auxiliars per a la operaci o del sistema el ectric com tamb e el suport en el control dels nivells de tensi o i freqü encia de la xarxa; oferir suport durant curtcircuits; i mantenir uns nivells m nims en la qualitat de la pot encia generada. Els sistemes d'emmagatzematge d'energia poden millorar la controlabilitat de la pot encia generada pels parcs e olics i ajudar a aquests a proveir serveis auxiliars al sistema el ectric, afavorint aix la seva integraci o a la xarxa. Aquesta tesi tracta l'aplicaci o en parcs e olics dels sistemes d'emmagatzematge d'energia basats en volants d'in ercia. La tesi introdueix les bases de diversos sistemes d'emmagatzematge i identi ca les seves potencials aplicacions en parcs e olics en base a una extensa revisi o bibliogr a ca. El treball continua amb la posta a punt d'un equipament de laboratori, que con gura un sistema d'emmagatzematge d'energia basat en un volant d'in ercia. Següents cap tols de la tesi estudien l'aplicaci o dels volants d'in ercia per a esmorteir el per l fluctuant de la pot encia generada pels parcs e olics. Els treballs es focalitzen en la de nici o dels criteris per a la operaci o optima dels volants d'in ercia per la seva aplicaci o d'esmorteir el per l fluctuant de potencia e olica, i tamb e en el disseny i validaci o experimental dels algoritmes de control desenvolupats per governar el sistema d'emmagatzematge. Els cap tols finals de la tesi tracten sobre el suport al control de freqü encia per part dels parcs e olics. S'ofereix una extensa revisi o bibliografica respecte els requeriments indicats pels operadors del sistema el ectric en aquest sentit. A m es, aquesta revisi o cobreix els m etodes de control dels parcs e olics i turbines e oliques per la seva participaci o en el suport al control de freqü encia. Les conclusions extretes serveixen per proposar sistemes de control de parcs e olics i de turbines e oliques per proveir el servei de control de freqüencia. Aquest treball, tamb e contempla la inclusi o de volants d'in ercia en els parcs e olics. Dels resultats de la tesi se'n dedueix l'important potencial dels sistemes d'emmagatzematge d'energia per a afavorir la integraci o a la xarxa dels parcs e olics. La controlabilitat de la pot encia dels volants d'in ercia, afavoreix el seu us per reduir la variabilitat de la pot encia generada pels parcs e olics, millorant aix la qualitat de pot encia del mateix. A m es, els volants d'in ercia poder ajudar als parcs e olics a complir amb els requeriments per a la seva integraci o a xarxa, com la participaci o en el control de freqüencia del sistema el ectric.
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Chen, Bernero Yanzi. "Comparative evaluation of advanced coal-based power plants." [S.l.] : [s.n.], 2002. http://edocs.tu-berlin.de/diss/2001/chen_yanzi.pdf.
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Ramdal, Jørgen. "Efficiency measurements in low head hydro power plants." Doctoral thesis, Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Institutt for energi- og prosessteknikk, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-14578.
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The work presented in this thesis involves efficiency measurements performed with thethermodynamic method and the pressure time method. The thermodynamic method haslimitations with regards to the power plant head, as uncertainty will increase as the headbecomes low. The Pressure-Time method has limitations concerning geometrical propertiesof the waterways, as it demands a certain length of closed conduit with uniform area. Bothmethods are considered to cause relatively short downtime for turbines to be measured, andit is therefore of interest, for economical reasons, to expand the use of the methods to morepower plants. In the thermodynamic method, a large source of errors and uncertainties comes from flowand temperature variations in the draft tube outlet. To investigate if this source of errors anduncertainties could be reduced, a setup with multipoint temperature and velocitymeasurements was installed in a low head hydro power plant. The general conclusion is thata multipoint measurement is beneficial in connection with low head measurements.Uncertainty from temperature variations in the water from the reservoir, and difference inthe energy at the inlet is also discussed. For the Pressure-Time method, this thesis presents investigations made with shorterdistances between measurement cross sections than prescribed in the standards, and withbends between the measurement cross sections. The investigations were performed both inlaboratory and in a field measurement. For laboratory experiments it was also investigated ifdeveloped models for unsteady friction could be used to correct the flow estimates. Thegeneral conclusions are: Measurements with short distances should not introduce large errors, but theuncertainty and spread of measured points will increase. Bends give an underestimation of the flow rate that, under certain circumstances, isconstant independent of initial velocity. How large the underestimation ratio willbe can yet not be predicted. Introducing unsteady friction in the Pressure-Time calculations improves the flowestimate. However, the results are not fully satisfactorily, and more work has to bedone to investigate the correction due to unsteady friction.
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Hu, Yukun. "CO2 capture from oxy-fuel combustion power plants." Licentiate thesis, KTH, Energiprocesser, 2011. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:kth:diva-48666.
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To mitigate the global greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions, carbon dioxide (CO2) capture and storage (CCS) has the potential to play a significant role for reaching mitigation target. Oxy-fuel combustion is a promising technology for CO2 capture in power plants. Advantages compared to CCS with the conventional combustion technology are: high combustion efficiency, flue gas volume reduction, low fuel consumption, near zero CO2 emission, and less nitrogen oxides (NOx) formation can be reached simultaneously by using the oxy-fuel combustion technology. However, knowledge gaps relating to large scale coal based and natural gas based power plants with CO2 capture still exist, such as combustors and boilers operating at higher temperatures and design of CO2 turbines and compressors. To apply the oxy-fuel combustion technology on power plants, much work is focused on the fundamental and feasibility study regarding combustion characterization, process and system analysis, and economic evaluation etc. Further studies from system perspective point of view are highlighted, such as the impact of operating conditions on system performance and on advanced cycle integrated with oxy-fuel combustion for CO2 capture. In this thesis, the characterization for flue gas recycle (FGR) was theoretically derived based on mass balance of combustion reactions, and system modeling was conducted by using a process simulator, Aspen Plus. Important parameters such as FGR rate and ratio, flue gas composition, and electrical efficiency etc. were analyzed and discussed based on different operational conditions. An advanced evaporative gas turbine (EvGT) cycle with oxy-fuel combustion for CO2 capture was also studied. Based on economic indicators such as specific investment cost (SIC), cost of electricity (COE), and cost of CO2avoidance (COA), economic performance was evaluated and compared among various system configurations. The system configurations include an EvGT cycle power plant without CO2 capture, an EvGT cycle power plant with chemical absorption for CO2 capture, and a combined cycle power plant. The study shows that FGR ratio is of importance, which has impact not only on heat transfer but also on mass transfer in the oxy-coal combustion process. Significant reduction in the amount of flue gas can be achieved due to the flue gas recycling, particularly for the system with more prior upstream recycle options. Although the recycle options have almost no effect on FGR ratio, flue gas flow rate, and system electrical efficiency, FGR options have significant effects on flue gas compositions, especially the concentrations of CO2 and H2O, and heat exchanger duties. In addition, oxygen purity and water/gas ratio, respectively, have an optimum value for an EvGT cycle power plant with oxy-fuel combustion. Oxygen purity of 97 mol% and water/gas ratio of 0.133 can be considered as the optimum values for the studied system. For optional operating conditions of flue gas recycling, the exhaust gas recycled after condensing (dry recycle) results in about 5 percentage points higher electrical efficiency and about 45 % more cooling water consumption comparing with the exhaust gas recycled before condensing (wet recycle). The direct costs of EvGT cycle with oxy-fuel combustion are a little higher than the direct costs of EvGT cycle with chemical absorption. However, as plant size is larger than 60 MW, even though the EvGT cycle with oxy-fuel combustion has a higher COE than the EvGT cycle with chemical absorption, the EvGT cycle with oxy-fuel combustion has a lower COA. Further, compared with others studies of natural gas combined cycle (NGCC), the EvGT system has a lower COE and COA than the NGCC system no matter which CO2 capture technology is integrated.QC 20111123
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Forsik, Stéphane Alexis Jacques. "Mechanical properties of materials for fusion power plants." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2009. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/221725.
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Fusion power is the production of electricity from a hot plasma of deuterium and tritium, reacting to produce particles and 14 MeV neutrons, which are collected by a cooling system. Their kinetic energy is transformed into heat and electricity via steam turbines. The constant ux of neutrons on the rst wall of the reactor produces atomic displacement damage through collisions with nuclei, and gas bubbles as a result of transmutation reactions. This leads eventually to hardening and embrittlement. Designing a material able to withstand such intensity of damage is one of the main aims of research in the field of controlled fusion. In the past decades, many experiments have been carried out to understand the formation of radiation-induced damage and quantify the changes in mechanical properties of irradiated steels, but the lack of facilities prevents us from testing candidate materials in a fusion-like environment. Modelling techniques are utilised here to extract information and principles which can help estimate changes in steels due to damage. The elongation and yield strength of various low-activation ferritic/martensitic steels were modelled by neural networks and Gaussian processes. These models were used to make predictions which were compared to experimental values. Combined with other techniques and thermodynamic tools, it was possible to understand the evolution of the mechanical properties of irradiated steel, with a particular focus on the role of chromium and the roles of irradiation temperature and irradiation dose. They were also used to extrapolate data related to fission and attempt to make predictions in fusion conditions. A set of general recommendations concerning the database used to train the neural networks were made and the usage of such a modelling technique in materials science is discussed. An attempt to optimise the performance of neural networks by suppressing some random aspects of the training is presented. Models of the elongation, yield strength and ductile-to-brittle transition temperature trained following this procedure were created and compared to classical models.
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Ukonsaari, Jan. "EAL's boundary lubrication performance in hydro power plants /." Luleå, 2002. http://epubl.luth.se/1402-1757/2002/14.
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Breyer, Christian [Verfasser]. "Economics of Hybrid Photovoltaic Power Plants / Christian Breyer." Kassel : Universitätsbibliothek Kassel, 2012. http://d-nb.info/1028170874/34.
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Arslan, Omer. "Modelling emissions of VOCs in modern power plants." Thesis, Imperial College London, 2002. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.289852.
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Howard, John N. "Thermophotovoltaic energy conversion in submarine nuclear power plants." Thesis, Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/10945/5684.
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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.v ABSTRACT Thermophotovoltaic (TPV) cells allow for the direct conversion of infrared (IR) radiation to electricity, similar to when traditional solar cells are exposed to visible light. The objective of this thesis is the development of a computer model of a multijunction TPV cell designed to absorb IR radiation from the primary fluid system of a naval nuclear reactor. This model is then used to determine the feasibility of using this TPV system as a supplemental source of electrical power on a next-generation nuclear submarine. The results of this simulation indicate that the design concept presented in this thesis is a viable option and warrants further consideration and research.
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Rizea, Steven Emanoel. "Optimization of Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Power Plants." Master's thesis, University of Central Florida, 2012. http://digital.library.ucf.edu/cdm/ref/collection/ETD/id/5462.
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A proprietary Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) modeling tool, the Makai OTEC Thermodynamic and Economic Model (MOTEM), is leveraged to evaluate the accuracy of finite-time thermodynamic OTEC optimization methods. MOTEM is a full OTEC system simulator capable of evaluating the effects of variation in heat exchanger operating temperatures and seawater flow rates. The evaluation is based on a comparison of the net power output of an OTEC plant with a fixed configuration. Select optimization methods from the literature are shown to produce between 93% and 99% of the maximum possible amount of power, depending on the selection of heat exchanger performance curves. OTEC optimization is found to be dependent on the performance characteristics of the evaporator and condenser used in the plant. Optimization algorithms in the literature do not take heat exchanger performance variation into account, which causes a discrepancy between their predictions and those calculated with MOTEM. A new characteristic metric of OTEC optimization, the ratio of evaporator and condenser overall heat transfer coefficients, is found. The heat transfer ratio is constant for all plant configurations in which the seawater flow rate is optimized for any particular evaporator and condenser operating temperatures. The existence of this ratio implies that a solution for the ideal heat exchanger operating temperatures could be computed based on the ratio of heat exchanger performance curves, and additional research is recommended.ID: 031001365; System requirements: World Wide Web browser and PDF reader.; Mode of access: World Wide Web.; Adviser: Marcel Ilie.; Title from PDF title page (viewed May 8, 2013).; Thesis (M.S.M.E.)--University of Central Florida, 2012.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 77-78).
M.S.M.E.
Masters
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Engineering and Computer Science
Mechanical Engineering; Mechanical Systems
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Patocka, Filip. "Environmental Impacts of Pumped Storage Hydro Power Plants." Thesis, Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet, Institutt for vann- og miljøteknikk, 2014. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:no:ntnu:diva-26677.
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Massive development of new renewable energy sources is taking place all over the world in 21st century and Europe is not an exception. Wind turbine parks are being planned and built on shore, in coastal zones and in the seas of European countries.With such a development of renewable sources comes a challenge of stable and continuous supply of electrical power which meets the demand. Renewable energy sources often have power output which cannot be easily regulated according to demand, but are rather fully dependent on forces in nature, such as a wind speed for wind power turbines, or solar radiation for photovoltaic solar modules. This problem has to be handled in order to ensure the safe and reliable operation of electricity grid in the future, which is capable of connecting the renewable energy input.This thesis is a continuation of suitability exploration of a current Norwegian hydropower system as so called the Green battery of Europe. This balancing system could secure the planned European wind power projects during situations when the production is larger than the demand by storing energy in upper reservoirs using pumping storage hydropower. During conditions when the demand is larger than generated energy the extra input can be produced by Norwegian hydropower system as well.The specific focus of this thesis is on evaluating the potential environmental impacts on Totak reservoir in Telemark county in Norway, caused by development of pumping storage hydropower. This hydropower plant is considered as a part of the system balancing the power output from TradeWind project, which is a wind power capacity scenario project for year 2030 consisting of 94,6GW of installed capacity in the North Sea in Belgium, Denmark, Germany, UK, Netherlands and Norway.During the work in this thesis, model of pumping storage hydropower plant between Totak and Songavatnet reservoirs was used to calculate characteristics of operation as water level fluctuation characteristics, transferred water volumes and other characteristics for two variants of installed power output within period of 2000-2006.Results of the pumping model were used to model the changes in temperature regime and ice formation of Totak reservoir. This was done by MyLake model developed by Norwegian Institute for Water Research in Oslo and further modified at NTNU for usage in reservoirs. With this so called MyLakeR model I modelled the temperature regime and ice cover in period of 2000-2006 for both current situation and situation after developing the pumping storage hydropower.This thesis provides the required complete hydrological forcing from pumping storage hydropower plant to the environment. Actual evaluation of impacts is often dependent on particular data which has to be collected on site, therefore only evaluation of potential impacts was done when the relevant data were available.Pumping model has proven to be a powerful and reliable tool. MyLakeR model showed that the modification done on a lake model allows successful modelling on more complex sites such as Totak reservoir. It also showed that for an ice routine of the model there is a need for further adjustments in order to model the ice cover regime affected by pumping storage hydropower.
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Bohm, Mark (Mark C. ). "Capture-ready power plants : options, technologies and economics." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/34517.
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Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 93-95).
A plant can be considered to be capture-ready if, at some point in the future it can be retrofitted for carbon capture and sequestration and still be economical to operate. The concept of capture-ready is not a specific plant design; rather it is a spectrum of investments and design decisions that a plant owner might undertake during the design and construction of a plant. Power plant owners and policymakers are interested in capture-ready plants because they may offer relatively low cost opportunities to bridge the gap between current coal-fired generation technologies without CO2 capture to future plants that may be built from the start to capture CO2, and reduce the risks of possible future regulations of CO2 emissions. This thesis explores the design options, technologies and costs of capture-ready coal-fired power plants. The first part of the thesis outlines the two major designs that are being considered for construction in the near-term - pulverized coal (PC) and integrated gasification/combined cycle (IGCC). It details the steps that are necessary to retrofit each of these plants for CO2 capture and sequestration. Finally, for each technology, it provides a qualitative assessment of the steps that can be taken to reduce the costs and output de-rating of the plant after a retrofit.
(cont.) The second part of the thesis evaluates the lifetime (40 year) net present value (NPV) costs of plants with differing levels of pre-investment for CO2 capture. Three scenarios are evaluated - a baseline supercritical PC plant, a baseline IGCC plant and an IGCC plant with pre-investment for capture. This analysis evaluates each technology option under a range of CO2 tax scenarios and determines the most economical choice and year of retrofit. The results of this thesis show that a baseline PC plant is the most economical choice under low CO2 tax rates, and IGCC plants are preferable at higher tax rates. Little difference is seen in the lifetime NPV costs between the IGCC plants with and without pre-investment for CO2 capture. The third part of this thesis evaluates the concept of CO2 "lock-in". CO2 lock-in occurs when a newly built plant is so prohibitively expensive to retrofit for CO2 capture that it will never be retrofitted for capture, and offers no economic opportunity to reduce the CO2 emissions from the plant, besides shutting down or rebuilding. The results of this analysis show that IGCC plants are expected to have significantly lower lifetime CO2 emissions than a PC plant, given moderate (10-35 $/ton CO2) initial tax rates.
(cont.) Higher (above $40) or lower (below $7) initial tax rates do not result in significant differences in lifetime CO2 emissions from these plants. Little difference is seen in the lifetime CO2 emissions between the IGCC plants with and without pre-investment for CO2 capture.
by Mark Bohm.
S.M.
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Sui, Yu 1973. "Identification of performance indicators for nuclear power plants." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2001. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29997.
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Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (p. 160-162).
Performance indicators have been assuming an increasingly important role in the nuclear industry. An integrated methodology is proposed in this research for the identification and validation of performance indicators for assessing and predicting nuclear power plant overall performance (i.e., both economic and safety performance) in a systematic and quantitative way. The methodology consists of four steps: the selection of target sites/plants, the identification and refinement of candidate indicators, the collection of historical operating records of selected indicators, and the identification and evaluation of correlations between selected indicators and plant performance through data analysis. The methodology is centered upon individual plants, using plant-specific operation records to identify and validate plant-specific correlations. It can also be applied to multiple plants and the results from different plants can be compared to identify and analyze commonalities and differences in plant operations across-plant. Case studies of the proposed methodology were performed at three target plants. A list of candidate performance indicators was identified through a sensitivity analysis on a quantitative model of nuclear power plant operation. The list was validated and supplemented through interviews with plant personnel and a refined, plant-specific list was obtained for each target plant. Historical operating records of candidate indicators in the lists were collected from target plants. Data analyses, including correlational analysis, multivariate regression analysis, and lead/lag time analysis, were performed using the historical data collected.
(cont.) The methodology was originally intended for the identification of leading indicators, which can provide advance warnings of deterioration of performance before the direct outcome indicators are affected. A regression-based lead/lag time analysis method was proposed and applied in the case studies to evaluate lead/lag relationships between candidate indicators and plant performance. However, the method did not produce stable and reliable results by using the data currently available at the target plants and was not able to identify leading indicators with certainty. As a result, we shifted the focus of our data analysis to identifying correlations between candidate indicators and plant performance through correlational analysis and multivariate regression analysis. Several findings are noteworthy: (1) Data analysis results were sensitive to the indicators and data points used, mainly due to the small number of data points (30-60) available for use in the analyses; (2) Data analysis results generally agreed with our knowledge and expectation, with a few exceptions; (3) Correlations showed large variations from plant to plant; (4) Correlations varied from time to time at most target plants; (5) The outcome indicators with smoother patterns (e.g., the INPO performance index) tended to correlate better with candidate indicators than the outcome indicators that measured relatively rare events and had sharp changes in their patterns (e.g., unplanned capability loss factor); (6) Work order backlogs stood out as important indicators for all three target plants; ...
by Yu Sui.
Ph.D.
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Cornejo, Gómez César Alberto. "Methodology for the development of hydroelectric power plants." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2016. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/107592.
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Thesis: S.M. in Engineering and Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Engineering, System Design and Management Program, Engineering and Management Program, 2016.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.
Includes bibliographical references (pages 73-75).
Hydropower has sufficient resources available and is actively promoted by Governments as part of their energy matrix, but its development is constrained by the difficulty of addressing location particularities, including technical features such as geology or hydrology, and institutional features such as social acceptance, environmental constraints and the regulatory framework. Project results emerge from the interactions of these Inherent Features and the Project Architecture and do not always meet stakeholders' expectations, leading to deficient project results and lost value. This thesis proposes a methodology for prototyping projects to reflect these particularities and inform project shaping and decision-making early in the process. The proposed methodology was built on three systems engineering and project complexity frameworks, and lessons learned from four case studies. Its contribution to hydropower development is related to (i) the incorporation of systems evolution over time on the development process, (ii) the identification and management of relationships among the various decomposed elements of the development, (iii) the identification of emergent properties from the interactions among all features, (iv) a prototype for developers to optimize or search for project architectures that meet stakeholders objectives while complying with restrictions, (v) the delivery of unbiased information for decision-makers, (vi) the opportunity of stakeholders to participate in the project shaping in a continuous fashion, and (vii) the delivery of a tool for the implementation team to evaluate and challenge changes to the project during construction. The usage of this methodology does not guarantee the avoidance of errors or unforeseen project outcomes, but it does reduce the chance for unknown risks emerging from the interactions of the evaluated features.
by César Alberto Cornejo Gómez.
S.M. in Engineering and Management
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Smith, Curtis Lee 1966. "Risk-informed incident management for nuclear power plants." Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2002. http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/29998.
Full textAbstract:
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Nuclear Engineering, 2002."September 2002."
Includes bibliographical references (p. 235-244).
Decision making as a part of nuclear power plant operations is a critical, but common, task. Plant management is forced to make decisions that may have safety and economic consequences. Formal decision theory offers the potential for a structured approach capable of taking into account risk-related aspects (plant and worker safety, for instance) and, at the same time, important factors like economics and regulatory requirements. Since power generation involves large capital and operational costs, making the decision process more efficient can lead to significant economical savings. With millions of dollars at stake, it is imperative that operational decisions be made in a logical and consistent fashion. In addition to the monetary concerns, a primary driver for this work is the desire to make defensible decisions. Within a structured organization like a nuclear power plant, a variety of interactions take place between groups of decision makers. These groups are asked to provide guidance on a variety of issues, ranging from complex regulatory requirements to planning maintenance activities of standby equipment. By providing an integrated package for decision making, it is believed that tools like the plant risk assessment can be used in a defensible manner as part of the day-to-day operation of the facility. The goal of this report is to describe a decision methodology for nuclear power plant incidents. Here, incidents are categorized as plant upsets that are not serious challenges to plant safety, but nonetheless require an appropriate response.
(cont.) As part of this decision methodology, risk assessment, worker safety, economics, preferences, and formal decision making models make up the foundation. We describe the construction, analysis heuristics, and inherent uncertainty of these models. From this methodological framework, we developed a prototypical on-line advisory tool that provides decisional advice relevant to incident management. The capabilities of this prototype are discussed along with a demonstration via case studies.
by Curtis Lee Smith.
Ph.D.