Increasing operational flexibility of supercritical coal-fired power plants by regulating thermal system configuration during transient processes

The operational flexibility of traditional coal-fired power generators has played crucial parts in many countries given the continuous integration of intermittent and fluctuant renewable power resources in their power system. This study is aimed at improving the short-term operational flexibility of thermal power units. The transient simulation models of a 660 MW supercritical coal-fired power system are developed by using the GSE software, and the six measures of regulating thermal system configuration, which can rapidly activate thermal storages in thermal systems, are introduced and compared. The greatest potential mode in each measure of regulating thermal system configuration is obtained on the basis of the utilization degree of the internal thermal storages. The dynamic characteristics of the thermal parameters of the selected measures are compared, and the results reveal that the measures of regulating extraction steam from low-pressure heaters has less negative effects on the live and reheat steam parameters but greater negative effects on the deaerator and condenser parameters than the measures of regulating extraction steam from high-pressure heaters. Moreover, the performance indexes of operational flexibility are also evaluated for all the measures of regulating thermal system configuration. Among five measures applied in the power-up process, the values of power ramp rate are from 1.26% to 6.31% of rated power per minute, the values of power capacity are from 12.87 to 48.35 MW, and the values of energy capacity during the regulating time of 120 s are 1009.73 to 5048.93 MJ. However, the measure of condensate water increasing of low-pressure heaters is an only way suitable for the power-down regulation process, and the value of power ramp rate is 0.61% of rated power per minute, the power capacity is −5.65 MW, and the energy capacity is −483.84 MJ. The best regulating measures are obtained on the basis of the different perspectives of operational flexibility. The findings of this study can help determine the best operational control strategies in different situations.