An optimized procedure for determining incremental heat rate characteristics

Abstract

An optimized procedure for producing generator incremental heat rate curves from continually sampled unit performance data is described. A generalized reduced-gradient algorithm is applied to optimally locate break points in incremental heat rate curves. Advantages include the ability to automatically take into consideration slow time-varying effects such as unit aging and temperature variations in combustion air and cooling water. The procedure is tested using actual fuel rate data for four generators.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>