The National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) is pleased to
announce simulator that can provide future engineers with realistic,
hands-on experience for operating advanced natural gas combined cycle
(NGCC) power plants will soon be available at the Advanced Virtual
Energy Simulation Training and Research (AVESTAR) Center (
http://www.netl.doe.gov/avestar ).

Under a new cooperative research and development agreement signed by
NETL and Invensys Operations Management, the partners will develop,
test, and deploy a dynamic simulator and operator training system (OTS)
for a generic NGCC power plant equipped for use with post-combustion
carbon capture. NETL will operate the new dynamic simulator/OTS at the
AVESTAR Center in Morgantown, W.Va.

With the new NGCC simulator, the AVESTAR Center--established with an
initial focus on clean, coal-fired integrated gasification combined
cycle (IGCC) power plants--will be able to expand its training and
energy-research opportunities to include natural gas–fired systems.
Based on Invensys’ SimSci-Esscor DYNSIM dynamic simulation software and
Wonderware InTouch operator training interface software, the new NGCC
simulator/OTS will be a derivative version of the synthesis gas–fired
combined-cycle portion of the IGCC dynamic simulator previously
developed for NETL by Invensys. The IGCC dynamic simulator/OTS  (
http://www.netl.doe.gov/avestar/simulators_igcc.html )was deployed at
the AVESTAR Center in March 2011 for use in IGCC operations and control
research and development, industry workforce training, and engineering
education.

This new high-fidelity, real-time simulator and training system will
provide future engineers with realistic, hands-on experience with NGCC
plant operation and control, including practice on startups, shutdowns
and abnormal situations. Simulation-based training often delivers better
preparation for actual operating scenarios and emergencies, which
improves the safety, environmental impact, and overall efficiency of the
plant.

NGCC is an advanced power-generation technology that improves the fuel
efficiency of natural gas. In an NGCC power plant, a gas turbine first
combusts natural gas to generate electricity. The hot exhaust gas from
the gas turbine is then used to make steam, which is fed to a steam
turbine to produce additional electricity. By using the heat from the
gas turbine as the heat source for the steam turbine, the NGCC system
extracts more useful energy from the heat, increasing the system’s
overall efficiency.

The new AVESTAR simulator/OTS will be based on a generic 570-megawatt
NGCC power plant consisting of two 180-megawatt gas turbines, two heat
recovery steam generators, and one 210-megawatt steam turbine in a
multi-shaft 2x2x1 configuration. For use in carbon-capture research, the
model will be developed to include process- and heat-integration
connections to post-combustion CO2-capture, -compression, and
-utilization processes. The results of the carbon-capture research will
be used for optimizing NGCC power plants with CO2 capture to have
superior operational flexibility, faster ramp rates, better
controllability, and enhanced safety, thus accelerating the rate at
which commercial-scale carbon-capture technologies will be deployed and
used in the years to come.
For more detailed information on the AVESTAR Center, please visit our
web site ( http://www.netl.doe.gov/avestar/index.html )
(www.netl.doe.gov/avestar) or join the AVESTAR group on LinkedIn (
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/AVESTAR-4374693/about ).