Main Ships Propulsion Boiler Control and Hardware-in-Loop Model Implementation

This article presents the issues related to the operation and modelling of a ship’s main propulsion steam boiler. Such objects are used widely in seagoing ships, especially very large crude oil carriers, as a main propulsion turbine feed. The advantages, along with the simple construction, thus greatly improve reliability making oil feed boilers an excellent source of power for the chosen types of large ships. It is worth mentioning that a vast part of the research work was performed in previous years regarding automatic control of boiler automation, but, since then, this technology has not been the focus of the researchers. Due to the fact that there is little information available on algorithms for controlling ship boilers, in the presented article, the authors created a unique solution for the control system of a propulsion boiler. The proposed control algorithm takes into account the operating parameters of the ship and allows for quick implementation in a simulation system working in a hardware loop, which can be used for quick testing of solutions for boiler systems fed with alternative fuels. In the future, fossil fuels will become less important than they are now, but the control techniques of boilers will eventually change due to different fuel parameters and, therefore, the development of such boilers is necessary. This article presents the results of research collected in real ship boilers during their operation and, based on the results, a digital model of such an object along with the necessary controls was created. This model was implemented into Hardware-In-Loop, which is the initial step for preparing the full model (including sensors, etc.) of a steam-heated boiler. The theoretical background, along with the chosen simulation and experimental results of control implemented into HIL, are presented to validate assumptions.