Model Predictive Control of Heat Pumps with Thermal Energy Storages in Industrial Processes

Raphael Agner, Peter Gruber and Beat Wellig ()
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Raphael Agner: Competence Center Thermal Energy Systems and Process Engineering, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Technikumstrasse 21, 6048 Horw, Switzerland
Peter Gruber: Competence Center Thermal Energy Systems and Process Engineering, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Technikumstrasse 21, 6048 Horw, Switzerland
Beat Wellig: Competence Center Thermal Energy Systems and Process Engineering, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, Technikumstrasse 21, 6048 Horw, Switzerland

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-24

Abstract: Integration of heat pumps combined with thermal energy storage provides a key pathway to decarbonizing the energy supply in the industry when the processes are not operated continuously. Yet, this integration of such novel systems introduces control challenges due to added dependencies between different process streams. This work investigates the control problem of heat pumps coupled to stratified thermal energy storage that is integrated into non-continuous industrial processes. A two-layer control strategy is proposed, where, in the higher level, a model predictive controller is developed for energy management using a linear model of the non-linear process. The resulting optimization problem is a mixed integer quadratic program. The low-level control layer is defined with standard industry controllers. The overall system is tested using a dynamic simulation model for the entire process, demonstrating its performance in three different cases. The control strategy optimizes heat recovery while ensuring system operability. The study demonstrates successful disturbance rejection and cold starts, wherein 100% of the targeted heat recovery can be confirmed under nominal conditions. Further evaluation in laboratory or field trials is recommended, and alternative, yet-to-be-defined, control concepts may be compared to the proposed approach.

Keywords: model predictive control; energy optimization; process integration; heat pump; thermal energy storage (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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