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The control system for fuel cell gas turbine hybrid power plants plays an important role in achieving synergistic operation of subsystems, improving reliability of operation, and reducing frequency of maintenance and downtime. In this paper, we discuss development of advanced control algorithms for a system composed of an internally reforming solid oxide fuel cell coupled with an indirectly heated Brayton cycle gas turbine. In high temperature fuel cells it is critical to closely maintain fuel cell temperatures and to provide sufficient electrochemical reacting species to ensure system durability. The control objective explored here is focused on maintaining the system power output, temperature constraints, and target fuel utilization, in the presence of ambient temperature and fuel composition perturbations. The present work details the development of a centralized linear quadratic regulator (LQR) including state estimation via Kalman filtering. The controller is augmented by local turbine speed control and integral system power control. Relative gain array analysis has indicated that independent control loops of the hybrid system are coupled at time scales greater than 1 s. The objective of the paper is to quantify the performance of a centralized LQR in rejecting fuel and ambient temperature disturbances compared with a previously developed decentralized controller. Results indicate that both the LQR and decentralized controller can well maintain the system power to the disturbances. However, the LQR ensures better maintenance of the fuel cell stack voltage and temperature that can improve high temperature fuel cell system durability. [DOI: 10.1115/1.3155007] Keywords: SOFC hybrid, gas turbine, control design, relative gain array, linear quadratic regulator, Kalman filter

This paper addresses control of structural vibrations using semi-active actuators that are capable of manipulating stiffness and/or producing variable stiffness. Usually vibration suppression is achieved using damping devices rather than stiffness ones. However, stiffness devices can produce large forces and have significant advantages for shock isolation purposes. In this work we use a passivity approach to establish the requirements for the control law for a structure equipped with semi-active stiffness devices. We also solve an optimal control problem that demonstrates that our passive, resetting feedback control law approximates the optimal control. Simulation and experimental results are presented in support of the proposed approach. [DOI:10.1115/1.2432360]

In this paper, we discuss the design of controllers that provide quadratic stability and a desirable disturbance attenuation level (through an appropriately small [L.sub.2] gain) for systems with time varying, real and structured uncertainty. It is shown that for a class of systems, the problem of designing dynamic output feedback can be separated into two stages, each an easily solvable convex problem. This information could be used in system design and configuration. Two examples are presented to illustrate the proposed approach.

A novel low power control technique along with a new class of actuators is developed for shock isolation and control of structural vibrations. In contrast to other techniques, including conventional viscous or rate damping, the force produced by the actuator has no velocity dependence. Several experimental, analytical, and simulation results are presented in support of this new, semi-active technique for structural control. The basic approach is to manipulate the system stiffness through the use of resetable actuators. With the proposed control approach, the actuator behaves like a linear spring. However, at appropriate times, the effective unstretched length of the actuator is changed--or reset--to extract energy from the vibrating structure. Experimental validation of the actuator model, analytical results on stability and actuator-placement, and simulation results for earthquake applications are presented. [S0022-0434(00)01603-8]