Dynamic Simulation of a Biomass-Fired Steam Power Plant: A Comparison Between Causal and A-Causal Modular Modeling

Dynamic simulation can play a significant role in energy conversion system design, in particular for testing the effect on the system response of different equipment choices, for control system design, operator training and safety/environmental assessment. With reference to a small biomass-fired steam power plant, this paper compares two implementations of a dynamic model of the plant: the first, based on a causal approach and implemented using the Matlab/Simulink software, the second, based on an a-causal object-oriented approach, implemented in the Modelica language and simulated with the Dymola program. The results of transient simulations are compared, and the merits of the two modeling approaches are discussed.Copyright © 2007 by ASME