Identification, Modeling and Control of Fuel Metering Valves in Fuel-Flexible Gas Turbine

Gas turbines play a key role in energy conversion, offering advantages such as high efficiency, rapid startups, and the ability to quickly adapt to changes in energy demand. They convert the energy of fuel into mechanical power by using a compressor, combustion chamber, and turbine. Metering valves are employed to ensure the correct fuel flow into the engine to meet power demands. When multiple valves are used, as in cases where high machine flexibility is required, issues can arise due to potential coupling between the valves. This effect can lead to undesirable variations in the total fuel flow entering the turbine, causing unwanted speed fluctuations. The objective of this study is to investigate the cause of abnormal operation of the metering valves in a selected turbine case study. The dynamic behavior of the valves and actuators was identified through purposely designed tests. A Simulink model of the fuel control system was developed and used to test different control strategies that could be adopted to resolve the valve coupling issue.