A Computational Workbench Environment for Virtual Power Plant Simulation

Abstract

In this report is described the work effort to develop and demonstrate a software framework to support advanced process simulations to evaluate the performance of advanced power systems. Integrated into the framework are a broad range of models, analysis tools, and visualization methods that can be used for the plant evaluation. The framework provides a tightly integrated problem-solving environment, with plug-and-play functionality, and includes a hierarchy of models, ranging from fast running process models to detailed reacting CFD models. The framework places no inherent limitations on the type of physics that can be modeled, numerical techniques, or programming languages used to implement the equipment models, or the type or amount of data that can be exchanged between models. Tools are provided to analyze simulation results at multiple levels of detail, ranging from simple tabular outputs to advanced solution visualization methods. All models and tools communicate in a seamless manner. The framework can be coupled to other software frameworks that provide different modeling capabilities.Three software frameworks were developed during the course of the project. The first framework focused on simulating the performance of the DOE Low Emissions Boiler System Proof of Concept facility, an advanced pulverized-coal combustion-based power plant. The second framework targeted simulating the performance of an Integrated coal Gasification Combined Cycle -Fuel Cell Turbine (IGCC-FCT) plant configuration. The coal gasifier models included both CFD and process models for the commercially dominant systems. Interfacing models to the framework was performed using VES-Open, and tests were performed to demonstrate interfacing CAPE-Open compliant models to the framework. The IGCC-FCT framework was subsequently extended to support Virtual Engineering concepts in which plant configurations can be constructed and interrogated in a three-dimensional, user-centered, interactive, immersive environment. The Virtual Engineering Framework (VEF), in effect a prototype framework, was developed through close collaboration with NETL supported research teams from Iowa State University Virtual Reality Applications Center (ISU-VRAC) and Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). The VEF is open source, compatible across systems ranging from inexpensive desktop PCs to large-scale, immersive facilities and provides support for heterogeneous distributed computing of plant simulations. The ability to compute plant economics through an interface that coupled the CMU IECM tool to the VEF was demonstrated, and the ability to couple the VEF to Aspen Plus, a commercial flowsheet modeling tool, was demonstrated. Models were interfaced to the framework using VES-Open. Tests were performed for interfacing CAPE-Open-compliant models to the framework. Where available, the developed models and plant simulations have been benchmarked against data from the open literature. The VEF has been installed at NETL.The VEF provides simulation capabilities not availab...