ADVANCED COMBUSTION ENGINEERING RESEARCH CENTER

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Free, JC

1986

Statistical Optimization of Feed Streams for an Entrained-Flow Coal Gasifier Using the PCGC-2 Simulator

Sowa, W.A.; Free, J.C.; Smith, P.J. and Hurst, T.N.
ASME Annual Meeting, 1986. 5 pages. Funded by US Department of Energy.

Concepts from statistical response surface methodology (RSM) and nonlinear optimization theory have been combined in a method for efficiently searching a "design space" when using large-scale analysis. The method is applied to a theoretical study of entrained-flow coal gasification, using PCGC-2, a two-dimensional, axisymmetric model developed at Brigham Young University, that predicts local properties in a reaction chamber. RSM was used to sample the design space and to construct a regression model, which was then linked to OPTDES, BYU, a program containing several nonlinear programming algorithms.

Two test plans were used to verify the performance of the RSM optimization algorithm in solving a gasification example problem. The method is shown to provide accurate results, while de-coupling the search and analysis phases of optimization. The importance of a proper test plan for conducting an un-biased exploration of design space is also demonstrated by comparing the results of the two test plans.