Advanced Process Engineering Co-Simulation of Power Generation Systems

摘要

In this paper we describe progress toward developing an Advanced Process Engineering Co-Simulator (APECS) for the design, analysis, and optimization of power generation systems. Using process-industry open software standards, the APECS integration framework combines process simulation and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software, together with advanced visualization and high-performance computing. We apply it here to a coal-fired, gasification-based power and hydrogen production plant for the U.S. Department of Energy's FutureGen project. Two high-fidelity CFD simulations, one for an entrained-fiow gasifier and one for a gas turbine combustor, are coupled into an overall process simulation of a potential FutureGen plant configuration. The advanced visualization and analysis capabilities in APECS are used to illustrate how the co-simulation technology can help engineers understand and optimize the fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, and chemical reactions mat drive overall power plant performance and efficiency.