Surrogate-Assisted Modeling and Robust Optimization of a Micro Gas Turbine Plant With Carbon Capture

Author(s):  
Simone Giorgetti ◽  
Diederik Coppitters ◽  
Francesco Contino ◽  
Ward De Paepe ◽  
Laurent Bricteux ◽  
...  

Abstract The growing share of wind and solar power in the total energy mix has caused severe problems in balancing the electrical power production. Consequently, in the future, all fossil fuel-based electricity generation will need to be run on a completely flexible basis. Microgas turbines (mGTs) constitute a mature technology which can offer such flexibility. Even though their greenhouse gas emissions are already very low, stringent carbon reduction targets will require them to be completely carbon neutral: this constraint implies the adoption of postcombustion carbon capture (CC) on these energy systems. Despite this attractive solution, an in-depth study along with a robust optimization of this system has not yet been carried out. Hence, in this paper, a typical mGT with exhaust gas recirculation has been coupled with an amine-based CC plant and simulated using the software aspenplus. A rigorous rate-based simulation of the CO2 absorption and desorption in the CC unit offers an accurate prediction; however, its time complexity and convergence difficulty are severe limitations for a stochastic optimization. Therefore, a surrogate-based optimization approach has been used, which makes use of a Gaussian process regression (GPR) model, trained using the aspenplus data, to quickly find operating points of the plant at a very low computational cost. Using the validated surrogate model, a stochastic optimization has been carried out. As a general result, the analyzed power plant proves to be intrinsically very robust, even when the input variables are affected by strong uncertainties.

Author(s):  
Simone Giorgetti ◽  
Diederik Coppitters ◽  
Francesco Contino ◽  
Ward De Paepe ◽  
Laurent Bricteux ◽  
...  

Abstract The growing share of wind and solar power in the total energy mix has caused severe problems in balancing the electrical power production. Consequently, in the future, all fossil fuel-based electricity generation will need to be run on a completely flexible basis. Micro Gas Turbines (mGTs) constitutes a mature technology which can offer such flexibility. Even though their greenhouse gas emissions are already very low, stringent carbon reduction targets will require them to be completely carbon neutral: this constraint implies the adoption of post-combustion Carbon Capture (CC) on these energy systems. To reduce the CC energy penalty, Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) can be applied to the mGTs increasing the CO2 content in the exhaust gas and reducing the mass flow rate of flue gas to be treated. As a result, a lower investment and operational cost of the CC unit can be achieved. In spite of this attractive solution, an in-depth study along with a robust optimization of this system has not yet been carried out. Hence, in this paper, a typical mGT with EGR has been coupled with an amine-based CC plant and simulated using the software Aspen Plus®. A rigorous rate-based simulation of the CO2 absorption and desorption in the CC unit offers an accurate prediction; however, its time complexity and convergence difficulty are severe limitations for a stochastic optimization. Therefore, a surrogate-based optimization approach has been used, which makes use of a Gaussian Process Regression (GPR) model, trained using the Aspen Plus® data, to quickly find operating points of the plant at a very low computational cost. Using the validated surrogate model, a robust optimization using a Non-dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II (NSGA II) has been carried out, assessing the influence of each input uncertainty and varying several design variables. As a general result, the analysed power plant proves to be intrinsically very robust, even when the input variables are affected by strong uncertainties.


Author(s):  
Eliot Rudnick-Cohen ◽  
Jeffrey W. Herrmann ◽  
Shapour Azarm

Feasibility robust optimization techniques solve optimization problems with uncertain parameters that appear only in their constraint functions. Solving such problems requires finding an optimal solution that is feasible for all realizations of the uncertain parameters. This paper presents a new feasibility robust optimization approach involving uncertain parameters defined on continuous domains without any known probability distributions. The proposed approach integrates a new sampling-based scenario generation scheme with a new scenario reduction approach in order to solve feasibility robust optimization problems. An analysis of the computational cost of the proposed approach was performed to provide worst case bounds on its computational cost. The new proposed approach was applied to three test problems and compared against other scenario-based robust optimization approaches. A test was conducted on one of the test problems to demonstrate that the computational cost of the proposed approach does not significantly increase as additional uncertain parameters are introduced. The results show that the proposed approach converges to a robust solution faster than conventional robust optimization approaches that discretize the uncertain parameters.


2019 ◽  
Vol 142 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliot Rudnick-Cohen ◽  
Jeffrey W. Herrmann ◽  
Shapour Azarm

Abstract Feasibility robust optimization techniques solve optimization problems with uncertain parameters that appear only in their constraint functions. Solving such problems requires finding an optimal solution that is feasible for all realizations of the uncertain parameters. This paper presents a new feasibility robust optimization approach involving uncertain parameters defined on continuous domains. The proposed approach is based on an integration of two techniques: (i) a sampling-based scenario generation scheme and (ii) a local robust optimization approach. An analysis of the computational cost of this integrated approach is performed to provide worst-case bounds on its computational cost. The proposed approach is applied to several non-convex engineering test problems and compared against two existing robust optimization approaches. The results show that the proposed approach can efficiently find a robust optimal solution across the test problems, even when existing methods for non-convex robust optimization are unable to find a robust optimal solution. A scalable test problem is solved by the approach, demonstrating that its computational cost scales with problem size as predicted by an analysis of the worst-case computational cost bounds.


Author(s):  
Johan A. Persson ◽  
Johan Ölvander

AbstractThis paper proposes a method to compare the performances of different methods for robust design optimization of computationally demanding models. Its intended usage is to help the engineer to choose the optimization approach when faced with a robust optimization problem. This paper demonstrates the usage of the method to find the most appropriate robust design optimization method to solve an engineering problem. Five robust design optimization methods, including a novel method, are compared in the demonstration of the comparison method. Four of the five compared methods involve surrogate models to reduce the computational cost of performing robust design optimization. The five methods are used to optimize several mathematical functions that should be similar to the engineering problem. The methods are then used to optimize the engineering problem to confirm that the most suitable optimization method was identified. The performance metrics used are the mean value and standard deviation of the robust optimum as well as an index that combines the required number of simulations of the original model with the accuracy of the obtained solution. These measures represent the accuracy, robustness, and efficiency of the compared methods. The results of the comparison show that sequential robust optimization is the method with the best balance between accuracy and number of function evaluations. This is confirmed by the optimizations of the engineering problem. The comparison also shows that the novel method is better than its predecessor is.


2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 420-446 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Zhou ◽  
Ping Jiang ◽  
Xinyu Shao ◽  
Hui Zhou ◽  
Jiexiang Hu

Purpose Uncertainty is inevitable in real-world engineering optimization. With an outer-inner optimization structure, most previous robust optimization (RO) approaches under interval uncertainty can become computationally intractable because the inner level must perform robust evaluation for each design alternative delivered from the outer level. This paper aims to propose an on-line Kriging metamodel-assisted variable adjustment robust optimization (OLK-VARO) to ease the computational burden of previous VARO approach. Design/methodology/approach In OLK-VARO, Kriging metamodels are constructed for replacing robust evaluations of the design alternative delivered from the outer level, reducing the nested optimization structure of previous VARO approach into a single loop optimization structure. An on-line updating mechanism is introduced in OLK-VARO to exploit the obtained data from previous iterations. Findings One nonlinear numerical example and two engineering cases have been used to demonstrate the applicability and efficiency of the proposed OLK-VARO approach. Results illustrate that OLK-VARO is able to obtain comparable robust optimums as to that obtained by previous VARO, while at the same time significantly reducing computational cost. Practical implications The proposed approach exhibits great capability for practical engineering design optimization problems under interval uncertainty. Originality/value The main contribution of this paper lies in the following: an OLK-VARO approach under interval uncertainty is proposed, which can significantly ease the computational burden of previous VARO approach.


2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (6) ◽  
pp. 1943-1958 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. L. S. Silva ◽  
M. A. Cardoso ◽  
D. F. B. Oliveira ◽  
R. J. de Moraes

AbstractIn this work, we discuss the application of stochastic optimization approaches to the OLYMPUS case, a benchmark challenge which seeks the evaluation of different techniques applied to well control and field development optimization. For that matter, three exercises have been proposed, namely, (i) well control optimization; (ii) field development optimization; and (iii) joint optimization. All applications were performed considering the so-called OLYMPUS case, a synthetic reservoir model with geological uncertainty provided by TNO (Fonseca 2018). Firstly, in the well control exercise, we successfully applied an ensemble-based approximate gradient method in a robust optimization formulation. Secondly, we solve the field development exercise using a genetic algorithm framework designed with special features for the problem of interest. Finally, in order to evaluate further gains, a sequential optimization approach was employed, in which we run one more well control optimization based on the optimal well locations. Even though we utilize relatively well-known techniques in our studies, we describe the necessary adaptations to the algorithms that enable their successful applications to real-life scenarios. Significant gains in the expected net present value are obtained: in exercise (i) a gain of 7% with respect to reactive control; for exercise (ii) a gain of 660% with respect to a initial well placement based on an engineering approach; and for (iii) an extra gain of 3% due to an additional well control optimization after the well placement optimization. All these gains are obtained with an affordable computational cost via the extensive utilization of high-performance computing (HPC) infrastructure. We also apply a scenario reduction technique to exercise (i), with similar gains obtained in the full ensemble optimization, however, with substantially inferior computational cost. In conclusion, we demonstrate how the state-of-the-art optimization technology available in the model-based reservoir management literature can be successfully applied to field development optimization via the conscious utilization of HPC facilities.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed Abdelmoaty ◽  
Wessam Mesbah ◽  
Mohammad A. M. Abdel-Aal ◽  
Ali T. Alawami

In the recent electricity market framework, the profit of the generation companies depends on the decision of the operator on the schedule of its units, the energy price, and the optimal bidding strategies. Due to the expanded integration of uncertain renewable generators which is highly intermittent such as wind plants, the coordination with other facilities to mitigate the risks of imbalances is mandatory. Accordingly, coordination of wind generators with the evolutionary Electric Vehicles (EVs) is expected to boost the performance of the grid. In this paper, we propose a robust optimization approach for the coordination between the wind-thermal generators and the EVs in a virtual<br>power plant (VPP) environment. The objective of maximizing the profit of the VPP Operator (VPPO) is studied. The optimal bidding strategy of the VPPO in the day-ahead market under uncertainties of wind power, energy<br>prices, imbalance prices, and demand is obtained for the worst case scenario. A case study is conducted to assess the e?effectiveness of the proposed model in terms of the VPPO's profit. A comparison between the proposed model and the scenario-based optimization was introduced. Our results confirmed that, although the conservative behavior of the worst-case robust optimization model, it helps the decision maker from the fluctuations of the uncertain parameters involved in the production and bidding processes. In addition, robust optimization is a more tractable problem and does not suffer from<br>the high computation burden associated with scenario-based stochastic programming. This makes it more practical for real-life scenarios.<br>


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