@inproceedings{SchaenzleAltherrEdereretal.2015, author = {Sch{\"a}nzle, Christian and Altherr, Lena and Ederer, Thorsten and Lorenz, Ulf and Pelz, Peter F.}, title = {As good as it can be: Ventilation system design by a combined scaling and discrete optimization method}, series = {Proceedings of FAN 2015}, booktitle = {Proceedings of FAN 2015}, pages = {1 -- 11}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The understanding that optimized components do not automatically lead to energy-efficient systems sets the attention from the single component on the entire technical system. At TU Darmstadt, a new field of research named Technical Operations Research (TOR) has its origin. It combines mathematical and technical know-how for the optimal design of technical systems. We illustrate our optimization approach in a case study for the design of a ventilation system with the ambition to minimize the energy consumption for a temporal distribution of diverse load demands. By combining scaling laws with our optimization methods we find the optimal combination of fans and show the advantage of the use of multiple fans.}, language = {en} } @article{PoettgenEdererAltherretal.2015, author = {P{\"o}ttgen, Philipp and Ederer, Thorsten and Altherr, Lena and Pelz, Peter F.}, title = {Developing a control strategy for booster stations under uncertain load}, series = {Applied Mechanics and Materials}, volume = {807}, journal = {Applied Mechanics and Materials}, number = {807}, publisher = {Trans Tech Publications}, address = {B{\"a}ch}, isbn = {1662-7482}, doi = {10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.807.241}, pages = {241 -- 246}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Booster stations can fulfill a varying pressure demand with high energy-efficiency, because individual pumps can be deactivated at smaller loads. Although this is a seemingly simple approach, it is not easy to decide precisely when to activate or deactivate pumps. Contemporary activation controls derive the switching points from the current volume flow through the system. However, it is not measured directly for various reasons. Instead, the controller estimates the flow based on other system properties. This causes further uncertainty for the switching decision. In this paper, we present a method to find a robust, yet energy-efficient activation strategy.}, language = {en} } @article{PoettgenEdererAltherretal.2015, author = {P{\"o}ttgen, Philipp and Ederer, Thorsten and Altherr, Lena and Lorenz, Ulf and Pelz, Peter F.}, title = {Examination and optimization of a heating circuit for energy-efficient buildings}, series = {Energy Technology}, volume = {4}, journal = {Energy Technology}, number = {1}, publisher = {WILEY-VCH Verlag}, address = {Weinheim}, isbn = {2194-4296}, doi = {10.1002/ente.201500252}, pages = {136 -- 144}, year = {2015}, abstract = {The conference center darmstadtium in Darmstadt is a prominent example of energy efficient buildings. Its heating system consists of different source and consumer circuits connected by a Zortstr{\"o}m reservoir. Our goal was to reduce the energy costs of the system as much as possible. Therefore, we analyzed its supply circuits. The first step towards optimization is a complete examination of the system: 1) Compilation of an object list for the system, 2) collection of the characteristic curves of the components, and 3) measurement of the load profiles of the heat and volume-flow demand. Instead of modifying the system manually and testing the solution by simulation, the second step was the creation of a global optimization program. The objective was to minimize the total energy costs for one year. We compare two different topologies and show opportunities for significant savings.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{AltherrEdererFarnetaneetal.2017, author = {Altherr, Lena and Ederer, Thorsten and Farnetane, Lucas S. and P{\"o}ttgen, Philipp and Verg{\´e}, Angela and Pelz, Peter F.}, title = {Multicriterial design of a hydrostatic transmission system via mixed-integer programming}, series = {Operations Research Proceedings 2015}, booktitle = {Operations Research Proceedings 2015}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-319-42901-4}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-319-42902-1_41}, pages = {301 -- 307}, year = {2017}, abstract = {In times of planned obsolescence the demand for sustainability keeps growing. Ideally, a technical system is highly reliable, without failures and down times due to fast wear of single components. At the same time, maintenance should preferably be limited to pre-defined time intervals. Dispersion of load between multiple components can increase a system's reliability and thus its availability inbetween maintenance points. However, this also results in higher investment costs and additional efforts due to higher complexity. Given a specific load profile and resulting wear of components, it is often unclear which system structure is the optimal one. Technical Operations Research (TOR) finds an optimal structure balancing availability and effort. We present our approach by designing a hydrostatic transmission system.}, language = {en} } @article{AltherrEdererPoettgenetal.2015, author = {Altherr, Lena and Ederer, Thorsten and P{\"o}ttgen, Philipp and Lorenz, Ulf and Pelz, Peter F.}, title = {Multicriterial optimization of technical systems considering multiple load and availability scenarios}, series = {Applied Mechanics and Materials}, volume = {807}, journal = {Applied Mechanics and Materials}, editor = {Pelz, Peter F. and Groche, Peter}, isbn = {1660-9336}, doi = {10.4028/www.scientific.net/AMM.807.247}, pages = {247 -- 256}, year = {2015}, abstract = {Cheap does not imply cost-effective -- this is rule number one of zeitgeisty system design. The initial investment accounts only for a small portion of the lifecycle costs of a technical system. In fluid systems, about ninety percent of the total costs are caused by other factors like power consumption and maintenance. With modern optimization methods, it is already possible to plan an optimal technical system considering multiple objectives. In this paper, we focus on an often neglected contribution to the lifecycle costs: downtime costs due to spontaneous failures. Consequently, availability becomes an issue.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{LorenzAltherrPelz2020, author = {Lorenz, Imke-Sophie and Altherr, Lena and Pelz, Peter F.}, title = {Resilience enhancement of critical infrastructure - graph-theoretical resilience analysis of the water distribution system in the German city of Darmstadt}, series = {14th WCEAM Proceedings}, booktitle = {14th WCEAM Proceedings}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-030-64228-0}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-64228-0_13}, pages = {137 -- 149}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Water suppliers are faced with the great challenge of achieving high-quality and, at the same time, low-cost water supply. Since climatic and demographic influences will pose further challenges in the future, the resilience enhancement of water distribution systems (WDS), i.e. the enhancement of their capability to withstand and recover from disturbances, has been in particular focus recently. To assess the resilience of WDS, graph-theoretical metrics have been proposed. In this study, a promising approach is first physically derived analytically and then applied to assess the resilience of the WDS for a district in a major German City. The topology based resilience index computed for every consumer node takes into consideration the resistance of the best supply path as well as alternative supply paths. This resistance of a supply path is derived to be the dimensionless pressure loss in the pipes making up the path. The conducted analysis of a present WDS provides insight into the process of actively influencing the resilience of WDS locally and globally by adding pipes. The study shows that especially pipes added close to the reservoirs and main branching points in the WDS result in a high resilience enhancement of the overall WDS.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{LorenzAltherrPelz2020, author = {Lorenz, Imke-Sophie and Altherr, Lena and Pelz, Peter F.}, title = {Assessing and Optimizing the Resilience of Water Distribution Systems Using Graph-Theoretical Metrics}, series = {Operations Research Proceedings 2019}, booktitle = {Operations Research Proceedings 2019}, editor = {Neufeld, Janis S. and Buscher, Udo and Lasch, Rainer and M{\"o}st, Dominik and Sch{\"o}nberger, J{\"o}rn}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-030-48439-2}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-48439-2_63}, pages = {521 -- 527}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Water distribution systems are an essential supply infrastructure for cities. Given that climatic and demographic influences will pose further challenges for these infrastructures in the future, the resilience of water supply systems, i.e. their ability to withstand and recover from disruptions, has recently become a subject of research. To assess the resilience of a WDS, different graph-theoretical approaches exist. Next to general metrics characterizing the network topology, also hydraulic and technical restrictions have to be taken into account. In this work, the resilience of an exemplary water distribution network of a major German city is assessed, and a Mixed-Integer Program is presented which allows to assess the impact of capacity adaptations on its resilience.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{MuellerSchmittLeiseetal.2021, author = {M{\"u}ller, Tim M. and Schmitt, Andreas and Leise, Philipp and Meck, Tobias and Altherr, Lena and Pelz, Peter F. and Pfetsch, Marc E.}, title = {Validation of an optimized resilient water supply system}, series = {Uncertainty in Mechanical Engineering}, booktitle = {Uncertainty in Mechanical Engineering}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-030-77255-0}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-77256-7_7}, pages = {70 -- 80}, year = {2021}, abstract = {Component failures within water supply systems can lead to significant performance losses. One way to address these losses is the explicit anticipation of failures within the design process. We consider a water supply system for high-rise buildings, where pump failures are the most likely failure scenarios. We explicitly consider these failures within an early design stage which leads to a more resilient system, i.e., a system which is able to operate under a predefined number of arbitrary pump failures. We use a mathematical optimization approach to compute such a resilient design. This is based on a multi-stage model for topology optimization, which can be described by a system of nonlinear inequalities and integrality constraints. Such a model has to be both computationally tractable and to represent the real-world system accurately. We therefore validate the algorithmic solutions using experiments on a scaled test rig for high-rise buildings. The test rig allows for an arbitrary connection of pumps to reproduce scaled versions of booster station designs for high-rise buildings. We experimentally verify the applicability of the presented optimization model and that the proposed resilience properties are also fulfilled in real systems.}, language = {en} } @incollection{LeiseAltherrSimonetal.2019, author = {Leise, Philipp and Altherr, Lena and Simon, Nicolai and Pelz, Peter F.}, title = {Finding global-optimal gearbox designs for battery electric vehicles}, series = {Optimization of complex systems - theory, models, algorithms and applications : WCGO 2019}, booktitle = {Optimization of complex systems - theory, models, algorithms and applications : WCGO 2019}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-030-21802-7}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-21803-4_91}, pages = {916 -- 925}, year = {2019}, abstract = {In order to maximize the possible travel distance of battery electric vehicles with one battery charge, it is mandatory to adjust all components of the powertrain carefully to each other. While current vehicle designs mostly simplify the powertrain rigorously and use an electric motor in combination with a gearbox with only one fixed transmission ratio, the use of multi-gear systems has great potential. First, a multi-speed system is able to improve the overall energy efficiency. Secondly, it is able to reduce the maximum momentum and therefore to reduce the maximum current provided by the traction battery, which results in a longer battery lifetime. In this paper, we present a systematic way to generate multi-gear gearbox designs that—combined with a certain electric motor—lead to the most efficient fulfillment of predefined load scenarios and are at the same time robust to uncertainties in the load. Therefore, we model the electric motor and the gearbox within a Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Program, and optimize the efficiency of the mechanical parts of the powertrain. By combining this mathematical optimization program with an unsupervised machine learning algorithm, we are able to derive global-optimal gearbox designs for practically relevant momentum and speed requirements.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{MeckMuellerAltherretal.2020, author = {Meck, Marvin M. and M{\"u}ller, Tim M. and Altherr, Lena and Pelz, Peter F.}, title = {Improving an industrial cooling system using MINLP, considering capital and operating costs}, series = {Operations Research Proceedings 2019}, booktitle = {Operations Research Proceedings 2019}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-030-48438-5 (Print)}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-48439-2_61}, pages = {505 -- 512}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The chemical industry is one of the most important industrial sectors in Germany in terms of manufacturing revenue. While thermodynamic boundary conditions often restrict the scope for reducing the energy consumption of core processes, secondary processes such as cooling offer scope for energy optimisation. In this contribution, we therefore model and optimise an existing cooling system. The technical boundary conditions of the model are provided by the operators, the German chemical company BASF SE. In order to systematically evaluate different degrees of freedom in topology and operation, we formulate and solve a Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Program (MINLP), and compare our optimisation results with the existing system.}, language = {en} } @article{MuellerLeiseLorenzetal.2020, author = {M{\"u}ller, Tim M. and Leise, Philipp and Lorenz, Imke-Sophie and Altherr, Lena and Pelz, Peter F.}, title = {Optimization and validation of pumping system design and operation for water supply in high-rise buildings}, series = {Optimization and Engineering}, volume = {2021}, journal = {Optimization and Engineering}, number = {22}, publisher = {Springer}, issn = {1573-2924}, doi = {10.1007/s11081-020-09553-4}, pages = {643 -- 686}, year = {2020}, abstract = {The application of mathematical optimization methods for water supply system design and operation provides the capacity to increase the energy efficiency and to lower the investment costs considerably. We present a system approach for the optimal design and operation of pumping systems in real-world high-rise buildings that is based on the usage of mixed-integer nonlinear and mixed-integer linear modeling approaches. In addition, we consider different booster station topologies, i.e. parallel and series-parallel central booster stations as well as decentral booster stations. To confirm the validity of the underlying optimization models with real-world system behavior, we additionally present validation results based on experiments conducted on a modularly constructed pumping test rig. Within the models we consider layout and control decisions for different load scenarios, leading to a Deterministic Equivalent of a two-stage stochastic optimization program. We use a piecewise linearization as well as a piecewise relaxation of the pumps' characteristics to derive mixed-integer linear models. Besides the solution with off-the-shelf solvers, we present a problem specific exact solving algorithm to improve the computation time. Focusing on the efficient exploration of the solution space, we divide the problem into smaller subproblems, which partly can be cut off in the solution process. Furthermore, we discuss the performance and applicability of the solution approaches for real buildings and analyze the technical aspects of the solutions from an engineer's point of view, keeping in mind the economically important trade-off between investment and operation costs.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{MuellerAltherrLeiseetal.2020, author = {M{\"u}ller, Tim M. and Altherr, Lena and Leise, Philipp and Pelz, Peter F.}, title = {Optimization of pumping systems for buildings: Experimental validation of different degrees of model detail on a modular test rig}, series = {Operations Research Proceedings 2019}, booktitle = {Operations Research Proceedings 2019}, publisher = {Springer}, address = {Cham}, isbn = {978-3-030-48438-5}, doi = {10.1007/978-3-030-48439-2_58}, pages = {481 -- 488}, year = {2020}, abstract = {Successful optimization requires an appropriate model of the system under consideration. When selecting a suitable level of detail, one has to consider solution quality as well as the computational and implementation effort. In this paper, we present a MINLP for a pumping system for the drinking water supply of high-rise buildings. We investigate the influence of the granularity of the underlying physical models on the solution quality. Therefore, we model the system with a varying level of detail regarding the friction losses, and conduct an experimental validation of our model on a modular test rig. Furthermore, we investigate the computational effort and show that it can be reduced by the integration of domain-specific knowledge.}, language = {en} }