Abstract
A solar-powered, fuel-assisted, steam, Rankine engine power plant that generates 50 kWe has recently been built and is operating at our university. The plant is designed to operate continuously by utilizing heat supplied by either solar energy and/or an LPG-fired oil heater. A software-assisted hardware control system manages the operation of the plant automatically and coordinates between various component-control commands to optimize system performance. The control system detects any failure in the entire system, shuts down the plant automatically, and identifies the source of the failure. We describe the control philosophy, plant hardware, and test results.