Open loop pneumatic control of a Lysholm engine or turbine exhaust pressure (open access)

Open loop pneumatic control of a Lysholm engine or turbine exhaust pressure

A Lysholm engine, or helical screw expander, is currently being evaluated at the University of California, Berkeley for staging with a conventional turbine in geothermal energy conversion. A pneumatic closed loop, proportional-integral control system was implemented to control the Lysholm engine's exhaust pressure for performance testing of the engine at constant inlet/outlet pressure ratios. The control system will also be used to control the exhaust pressure of the conventional turbine during future testing of the staged Lysholm-turbine system. Analytical modeling of the control system was performed and successful tuning was achieved by applying Ziegler-Nichol's tuning method. Stable control and quick response, of approximately 1 minute, was demonstrated for load and set point changes in desired exhaust pressures.
Date: July 17, 1981
Creator: Plonski, B.A.
System: The UNT Digital Library