Risk assessment, dynamic analysis and multi-objective optimization of a solar-driven hybrid gas/steam power plant

One of the critical issues in the design and optimization of power systems is considering the performance indices and safety problems simultaneously. In this paper, a new optimization procedure based on energy, exergy, and risk analyses of a solar-driven combined gas/steam cycle power plant has been proposed and investigated. In the first step, the first and second laws of thermodynamics are used to evaluate the thermal and exergetic efficiencies of the plant. For this, precise modeling of the parabolic solar collectors and all the other components of the system has been performed. For the validation of thermodynamic modeling, the ThermoFlex simulation tool is employed. Then, the risk identification process has been performed considering the jet fire, the jet of combustion gas, and over-pressure as the main sources of risk in the power plant. To quantify each of these risks, appropriate correlations are presented, and the risk values are calculated as a function of the operational parameters of the cycle. In the next step, different multi-objective optimizations have been performed to achieve a configuration that has the highest efficiency and lowest risk. The results of optimizations show a good improvement in the thermodynamic efficiencies and risks of the system by 10.7%, 10.2%, and 1.21%, respectively. In the end, the dynamic analysis of the considered power plant is performed for optimal and base-case design.