the aim of this study is to find the optimal water pressure and percentage of supply vapour in the feed water heaters (fwhs) of steam power plants, such that they maximize the thermal efficiency of the rankine cycle within pre-specified values of minimum and maximum pressures of the thermodynamic cycle. thermal efficiency is defined as a function of unknown variables (fluid pressure and vapour ...

In addition to wind and photovoltaic power, concentrating solar thermal power (CSP) will make a major contribution to electricity provision from renewable energies. Drawing on almost 30 years of operational experience in the multi-megawatt range, CSP is now a proven technology with a reliable cost and performance record. In conjunction with thermal energy storage, electricity can be provided ac...

This work presents some preliminary results of a project aimed at the application of industrial Model Predictive Control (MPC) to thermal Power Plants. The rationale which motivates this research is the need to improve the efficiency of power plants to cope with the high levels of competitions induced by the liberalization of the energy market. A detailed plant simulator is coupled to an indust...