AN INTELLIGENT APPROACH TO FAULT-TOLERANT CONTROL OF GAS TURBINE ELECTRIC GENERATOR

Abstract

A fault-tolerant control system for gas turbine electric generators was proposed for the control of system parameters during observed fault conditions. The Proposed system consists of a fault diagnosis and fault estimation unit, an adaptive control unit, and a feedback unit. The outputs from the gas turbine are continuously monitored with the help of a Kalman filter algorithm for changes in system parameters and fault conditions. The intelligent control system compares the estimated system state inputs with that of the predefined or reference system states for any variations in the inputs or errors recorded in the system. The adaptive controller output a corresponding signal that will maintain the system performance during normal operations and provide a near-optimal performance during fault conditions observed in the gas turbine. The control rules for the adaptive controller were developed using fuzzy logic-based artificial intelligence. The results obtained from the simulations carried out show the effectiveness of the developed FTC controller. The following improvements were also recorded during fault conditions: 5.02% improvement in compressor air mass flow, 34.98% reduction in exhaust temperature and 37.5% increase in electrical power generated.