The dynamic simulation of the Santee Cooper Cross power plant

The Santee Copper Cross Generating Station just outside of Charleston, South Carolina has recently added a second power generating unit, increasing the plant's power capacity by 560 MW. At the heart of the new unit is a Foster Wheeler pulverized coal boiler generating 3.9 Mlb/hr of steam. An understanding of the dynamic behavior of such a large plant is of importance today since utilities are focusing on competitive power management strategies which can translate into dispatch responsiveness. For a comprehensive understanding of plant dynamics without interfering with actual power production, dynamic computer models are fulfilling this need. A dynamic model of the Cross Station Unit 1 has been developed. The model predicts overall integrated plant dynamics for any operational scenario. All dynamically significant plant components and systems (coal pulverizers, air fans and dampers, individual boiler tube bundles, steam turbine sections, plant control system, etc.) are represented by their physical dynamic relationships. Software advances allow models of this complexity and size to run real time on a personal computer extending their application into plant simulators for state-of-the-art operator training. The paper outlines the Santee Cooper Cross Station Unit 1 configuration and its translation into the modeling environment. Modeling techniques, assumptions and validation are discussed.