Development of a hardware-in-the-loop test rig for testing turbogenerator waste heat recovery systems

摘要

The overall energy efficiency of maritime platforms is increasingly important, for both commercial and military applications. This research project focuses on recovering some of the energy lost through the exhaust of a diesel engine using a turbocompounding system consisting of a radial flow turbine coupled to an electrical generator (turbogenerator). This system can be retrofitted to existing diesel engines and only marginally increases the engine weight, volume and complexity. Additionally, the reduced exhaust gas temperature reduces the vessel's thermal signature. To gain a better understanding of the expected performance of the turbogenerator on a diesel engine, and the effectiveness of Model Predictive Control (MPC), the turbogenerator and MPC controller is tested in a test rig using Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulations. As opposed to simulation only based development, HIL simulations enable the testing and development of control systems under more realistic operating conditions. In this work, the test rig is used to subject the turbogenererator to realistic surface vessel and submarine operating conditions. This paper details the test rig used in this project, the performance mapping of the turbogenerator, the methodology used to reproduce engine operating conditions within the test rig, and the interface between the test rig and the simulation environment.