A hybrid receding horizon optimization and active disturbance rejection control of boiler superheated steam temperature

Efficient control of superheated steam temperature is critical for maintaining the safety and efficiency of a power plant boiler. Exceeding the safe temperature range can cause irreversible damage. However, unknown disturbances and uncertainties, as well as large delay dynamics, often make superheated steam temperature safety control challenging. To this end, this paper proposes a hybrid bi-level safety control for superheated steam temperature control in a power plant boiler. The bottom level uses active disturbance rejection control, while upper level uses receding horizon optimization. The proposed method combines the advantages of active disturbance rejection control in solving unknown disturbances and the dynamic optimization of receding horizon optimization to effectively and safely control superheated steam temperature and optimize the control system performance. The main novelty of the scheme lies in making receding horizon optimization independent of the model of the plant, in terms of making full use of the closed-loop desired dynamics under active disturbance rejection control. Practical synthesis design methods are also presented to illustrate the tuning and optimization of this control strategy. On-site testing results show that the proposed method improves both disturbance rejection and tracking performance, with improvements of at least 20 % over comparison methods. In conclusion, the proposed bi-level control strategy is a promising approach for improving the safety and efficiency of power plants.