Models for fast modelling of district heating and cooling networks

Within the framework of AMBASSADOR, a collaborative project funded by European Commission under FP7, a Modelica® library for the modelling of thermal-energy transport in district heating systems has been developed. This library comprises detailed models of the distribution and consumption components commonly found in district heating systems. In this paper, the detailed models are discussed, along with their validation against Apros® and IDA-ICE® Software. The results show that, although most of the models perform similarly, they do not equally reproduce the dynamics. Some of the limitations detected from the simulation results are currently being solved in new developments within the EU-funded INDIGO project.

Furthermore, with the aim of avoiding problems derived from the simulation of large models, the methodology for developing reduced mathematical models, implemented in Simulink®, is also presented in this research work. This methodology includes identifying the relevant model dynamics. During the procedure, additional information about the models can be obtained. For instance, the mass flow rate and the temperature can be assumed to be decoupled, without losing accuracy in the case of the distribution pipe model.