 |
 Author:
Mohan Thiagarajah, Applications
Consultant, Honeywell UK
When Honeywell UK won a contract to retrofit an
existing control system on a General Electric LM2500 gas turbine, they
required a simulation package that had the power and flexibility to
model the nonlinearities of a turbine, as well as evaluate the
relationship between the turbine and the controller. Based on previous
experience, Mohan Thiagarajah, applications consultant at Honeywell,
chose VisSim to handle all of their development and testing needs.
After only a few weeks, Thiagarajah created a
basic model of the gas turbine, including the compressor, combustor,
gas generator turbine, and power turbine. Several iterations later,
the model would grow to over 2,000 blocks and encompass all the
auxiliary units, including fans, pumps, values, and pipes. According
to Thiagarajah, features like drag-and-drop block placement and
compound blocks streamlined model construction and greatly improved
the readability of the diagram.
One of Thiagarajah's prime concerns was
integrating existing GE information into the overall model. In
particular, Thiagarajah wanted to model the starter motor, ignition
system, ventilation fan, and lubrication oil pumps based on GE
specifications. "The map block provided an easy and reliable way to
incorporate this data directly into the simulation," explained
Thiagarajah. "I could perform 1-, 2-, or 3-D table lookups,
depending on how the data was organized." |
General Electric LM2500 Gas Generator |
With a fully functioning model, Thiagarajah was
able to create and validate complicated control algorithms for
start-up sequencing and fuel controls, and stimulate both the
transient and steady-state behavior of the system. He also had a safe
environment in which to test emergency trips and alarms that would be
too costly or dangerous to perform on the physical system.
In the end, both Honeywell and their customer were extremely satisfied
with Thiagarajah's work. Honeywell found that VisSim was the most
effective and easiest PC-based solution for developing complex
simulation models. Honeywell's customer ended up with an operational
system that met all their requirements.
"We have a similiar project coming up soon -- an offshore oil rig in
Norway that has 10 compressors and 4 Rolls Royce gas turbines. I fully
expect to use VisSim to great effect again."
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