A decentralized controller design for a power plant using robust local controllers and functional mapping

This paper presents a design approach for a decentralized controller for a power plant. An electric power plant nonlinear model is decomposed into three subsystems: boiler, turbine, and generator. The interconnecting variables between the subsystems are treated as constant boundary conditions for the controller design. The local controllers are designed to be robust in order to accommodate fluctuations in the interaction variables once the overall system is considered. The drum pressure set-point is automatically obtained from the power demand through a functional mapping.