Multi‐model predictive control of SCR flue gas denitrification system in coal‐fired power plant based on kernel fuzzy c‐means clustering and integrated model

Abstract A multi‐model predictive control strategy based on kernel fuzzy c‐means (KFCM) clustering and integrated model is proposed for the complex problem of rapid and accurate control of ammonia injection in selective catalytic reduction (SCR) denitrification systems of coal‐fired power plants under a wide range of variable load conditions. First, the SCR data samples are clustered using the KFCM clustering algorithm, and the number of clusters is determined by introducing the Xie‐Beni index. Second, the prediction model of the SCR denitrification system is established by an integrated modelling approach, and the sub‐learners of the integrated model are the genetic algorithm optimized back propagation (GA‐BP) neural network model and the least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) model. Third, a multi‐model prediction controller based on the particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm and the integrated model is designed and developed. To ensure the stability of the system, a model‐switching strategy based on the minimum Euclidean distance is proposed. Finally, simulation verification and industrial field application verification are fulfilled by comparing with proportion integral differential (PID) control and single model predictive control (MPC). The results show that the multi‐model predictive control method proposed in this paper can obtain higher control accuracy and better control stability and meet the control requirements for the long‐term operation of the SCR denitrification system.