Performability measure for a power plant

Abstract

This paper considers the problem of economical optimization of the power production in a power plant capable of utilizing three different fuel systems. The considered fuel systems are coal, gas, and oil; each has certain advantages and disadvantages e.g. gas is easier to control than coal but it is more expensive. A profit function is stated and an analysis of the optimal fuel configuration is performed based on the Hamiltonian from the maximum principle. The analysis leads to the introduction of a performability measure, which, when the value is above a confidence threshold, indicates that a change of fuel system usage is beneficial. That is, the performability measure determines when an increase of performance is possible.