Modelling and simulation of solar-thermal DH systems

Abstract

Currently, dynamical heat transfer models of the District Heating (DH) systems are needed to synthesize different types of smart building controllers. Such controllers are designed in such a way as to increase energy savings and provide highly flexible and more efficient DH systems. In this work, the complete analysis, the modelling, and the simulation of a DH thermal solar system have been investigated. A Complete mathematical modelling of the DH system components has been carried out for both the transient and steady state parts. The generated mathematical heat transfer model of the DH system has been first verified and validated through computer simulations, and it has been complemented by real collected environmental data in order to validate the derived heat transfer model. Finally, a small-scale DH system has been built and tested to validate the computer simulations, which has also been used to test a simple ON/OFF as a control strategy for the DH thermal solar system.