Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Fig. 6.1
Hardware-in-the-loop strategy scheme.
Source:
As a courtesy of the authors (Scherer et
al.
2014
)
necting the solar cooling plant with a simulator of a sequence of HVAC systems, one
HVAC system for each room simulated, see Fig.
6.1
.
Some of the obtained results are presented in this section. However, the interested
reader is referred to Scherer et al. (
2014
) to find more control results, a detailed
explanation of the distributed algorithm used and a comparison between this pro-
posed distributed algorithm and a centralised one. As pointed out previously, the
performed tests followed the hardware-in-the-loop methodology, whereby the solar
plant was connected to a simulator that emulated the dynamics of the HVAC systems.
After receiving real data of flow and temperature from the solar plant, the simulator
calculates the outputs of the subsystems which are fed back into a load simulator
connected to the solar plant. As the system is simulated for the summer period, to
supply the HVAC systems, the absorption machine generates chilled water with a
temperature that fluctuates between 6 and 11
◦
C. Such a fluctuation is an inherent
characteristic of the on/off type temperature controller of the cooling plant. The solar
panels are active and the whole plant is in operation in such a way that the absorption
machine is fed directly from the solar plant.
Two experiments are shown. In the first, independent controllerswere used, one for
each subsystem; the aim of these controllers is to control the impulse air temperature
of the fancoil by means of the water flow which flows through it. The controllers
considered a fixed setpoint of 19
◦
C for all of them. Thiswas implemented disallowing
