Dynamic Performance Analysis of Load-Frequency Control Systems in Thermal Plants with Gas Turbines Applying Fractional Control

Abstract

This work investigates fractional-order control techniques applied to the speed, load, and frequency management of a high-capacity industrial gas turbine (heavy-duty). The aim is to optimize the turbine’s response to fluctuations in load and generation, as well as to analyze fuel consumption. Two fractional approaches are employed to develop speed governor: one based on fractional-order pole placement, using the Oustaloup technique for its approximation, and another based on phase compensation with lead-lag, in conjunction with a classical lead-lag compensation method. The controllers’ performance is evaluated through simulated tests implemented in the MATLAB/Simulink computational environment. These tests consider variations in the reference signal, the turbine’s behavior in the event of an electrical fault, and the introduction of a noisy signal. The results indicate that the fractional-order controller pole placement performs best among the controlled systems.