Automated steam pressure control system for steam-plasma burners in heating systems of agricultural enterprises

Ensuring regulated and stable steam pressure in a steam-plasma burner device is a priority objective in the design of heating systems for agricultural enterprises. Existing control methods based on standard PID-type controllers do not provide high efficiency of the heating system. The research aimed to develop a computer model of an automated steam pressure control system for a steam-plasma burner device with a capacity of up to 1 MW and to determine the optimal controller coefficients ensuring steam pressure stabilization. The computer model of the automated steam pressure control system for the steam-plasma burner device, developed in the Matlab/Simulink environment, includes a radial piston pump, a distribution unit, a steam-plasma generator, and a control system based on a proportional-integral controller. Dynamic processes in the system were simulated at fixed shaft rotation speeds of 100, 200, 300, and 477 rpm and a steam pressure range of 0 to 23 bar. The authors examined the influence of the PI controller parameters on transient processes and operational stability. Computational experiments resulted in determining optimal PI controller coefficients, providing a minimum transient time (no more than 7 seconds) and a pressure deviation not exceeding 4% of the setpoint value. The obtained results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control method and the feasibility of its practical implementation in automatic control systems for liquid-fuel burners used at agricultural enterprises.

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