On June 7th, the Annual Congress of the Spanish Section of the International Society of Automation (ISA) took place in Madrid, where the best projects of students, professionals and companies were awarded. The project “OptimizedAdaptive Control System in the Tempering of a Thermal Power Plant” carried out by the ADEX engineer Eduardo Sánchez, was awarded with the first prize in the category of essays drafted by students. The project consists inthe design and implementation of an ADEX optimized adaptive system in the steam tempering of one of the main Spanish thermal power plants. This control system is currently operating in the plant since June 2017, having managed to reduce the deviation of the temperature from its set point by around 70% and the maximum peaks by 80%.
The control of the steam temperature of the turbine inlet constitutes one of the critical loops in a thermal power plant, since it is essential to carry out a safe and stable operation, minimizing the problems related to thermal effects in the materials due the temperature oscillations and the maximum peaks. This is especially relevant in coal plants, with frequent changes of load satisfy the energy demand, which constantly test the versatility of the plant and require precise control that does not allow large deviations in very different situations. The ISA, is the main worldwide association in the area of Instrumentation and Process Control, which include around 40,000 professionals in the sector and presence in more than 40 countries. The Spanish section has recently celebrated its 20th anniversary and, like every year, has brought together in Madrid the leading experts and professionals from the most important companies such as Repsol, Siemens, Emerson, Técnicas Reunidas or Cepsa, among others and, for this occasion, the presence of the president of ISA International. During this event, the ISA Spain commission formed by prominent members of recognized prestige in the sector, has awarded the work of the engineer Eduardo Sánchez, putting in value the ADEX technology and the philosophy of the company, focused on constant innovation and searching of talent.