Dynamic modeling and validation of a micro-combined heat and power system with integrated thermal energy storage

Trevor J. Bird and Neera Jain

Applied Energy, 2020, vol. 271, issue C, No S0306261920304670

Abstract: The operation of combined heat and power systems is inherently challenging due to the fact that they synchronously generate power and heat while being tasked to meet asynchronous loads. By integrating thermal storage into the system, these loads can be temporally decoupled, albeit at the cost of a more complex dynamical system. In this paper we present a nonlinear, reduced order dynamic model of a small-scale, proton exchange membrane fuel cell combined heat and power system with sensible thermal energy storage in the form of a stratified hot water tank. By modeling the thermal stratification dynamics within the thermal storage, its storage capacity, and the temperature of water that will be discharged from the tank, can be accurately quantified. A quasi-static approach is used to couple the dynamic components without increasing the model order, thereby minimizing computational burden. The resulting system model is fully parameterized by the system temperatures and model inputs, making it well suited for use as a faster than real-time, simulated testbed. The model’s empirical parameters are identified from experimental data, and the resulting system model is validated against an experimental testbed over a wide operating range. The results of the experimental validation show that the model is able to predict the electrical power and temperature of hot water provided to the end user within a normalized root mean square error of 1.58% and 8.34%, respectively. The presented model is available for download from a public repository through the URL provided at the end of the manuscript.

Keywords: Dynamic modeling; Reduced order modeling; Combined heat and power; Sensible thermal energy storage; Thermal stratification; Proton exchange membrane fuel cell (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261920304670
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:271:y:2020:i:c:s0306261920304670

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114955

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan

More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().