Modified active disturbance rejection control based on gain scheduling for circulating fluidized bed units

Circulating fluidized bed (CFB) units are extensively operated in China due to their wide fuel adaptability, low emissions and high combustion efficiency. Nevertheless, CFB units are facing many control challenges due to their strong nonlinearity and large lag characteristics. To handle these control challenges, a modified active disturbance rejection control based on gain scheduling is structured in this paper. Firstly, a decentralized active disturbance rejection control strategy based on gain scheduling is designed by analyzing control difficulties of CFB units. Then, the parameter tuning and scheduling methods are provided, and the convergence of the extended state observer during the scheduling process is derived theoretically. The advantages of the proposed method in tracking performance, disturbance rejection performance, and ability to reject fuel quality fluctuation and uncertain heat transfer coefficients are illustrated by comparative simulations. Finally, the proposed control strategy is practically applied to the main steam pressure system of a 300 MW CFB unit. Running data demonstrate that it has a faster tracking performance and better disturbance rejection ability in [50$\sim$100]% of the rated load, where the hourly average integral absolute error index has decreased obviously, and it shows a good field application prospect.