@inproceedings{LahrsKrisamHerrmann2023, author = {Lahrs, Lennart and Krisam, Pierre and Herrmann, Ulf}, title = {Envisioning a collaborative energy system planning platform for the energy transition at the district level}, series = {ECOS 2023. The 36th International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems}, booktitle = {ECOS 2023. The 36th International Conference on Efficiency, Cost, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Impact of Energy Systems}, publisher = {Procedings of ECOS 2023}, doi = {10.52202/069564-0284}, pages = {3163 -- 3170}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Residential and commercial buildings account for more than one-third of global energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. Integrated multi-energy systems at the district level are a promising way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by exploiting economies of scale and synergies between energy sources. Planning district energy systems comes with many challenges in an ever-changing environment. Computational modelling established itself as the state-of-the-art method for district energy system planning. Unfortunately, it is still cumbersome to combine standalone models to generate insights that surpass their original purpose. Ideally, planning processes could be solved by using modular tools that easily incorporate the variety of competing and complementing computational models. Our contribution is a vision for a collaborative development and application platform for multi-energy system planning tools at the district level. We present challenges of district energy system planning identified in the literature and evaluate whether this platform can help to overcome these challenges. Further, we propose a toolkit that represents the core technical elements of the platform. Lastly, we discuss community management and its relevance for the success of projects with collaboration and knowledge sharing at their core.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{SchulteSchwagerNoureldinetal.2023, author = {Schulte, Jonas and Schwager, Christian and Noureldin, Kareem and May, Martin and Teixeira Boura, Cristiano Jos{\´e} and Herrmann, Ulf}, title = {Gradient controlled startup procedure of a molten-salt power-to-heat energy storage plant based on dynamic process simulation}, series = {SolarPACES: Solar Power \& Chemical Energy Systems}, booktitle = {SolarPACES: Solar Power \& Chemical Energy Systems}, number = {2815 / 1}, publisher = {AIP conference proceedings / American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville, NY}, isbn = {978-0-7354-4623-6}, issn = {1551-7616 (online)}, doi = {10.1063/5.0148741}, pages = {9 Seiten}, year = {2023}, abstract = {The integration of high temperature thermal energy storages into existing conventional power plants can help to reduce the CO2 emissions of those plants and lead to lower capital expenditures for building energy storage systems, due to the use of synergy effects [1]. One possibility to implement that, is a molten salt storage system with a powerful power-to-heat unit. This paper presents two possible control concepts for the startup of the charging system of such a facility. The procedures are implemented in a detailed dynamic process model. The performance and safety regarding the film temperatures at heat transmitting surfaces are investigated in the process simulations. To improve the accuracy in predicting the film temperatures, CFD simulations of the electrical heater are carried out and the results are merged with the dynamic model. The results show that both investigated control concepts are safe regarding the temperature limits. The gradient controlled startup performed better than the temperature-controlled startup. Nevertheless, there are several uncertainties that need to be investigated further.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{SchwagerAngeleSchwarzboezletal.2023, author = {Schwager, Christian and Angele, Florian and Schwarzb{\"o}zl, Peter and Teixeira Boura, Cristiano Jos{\´e} and Herrmann, Ulf}, title = {Model predictive assistance for operational decision making in molten salt receiver systems}, series = {SolarPACES: Solar Power \& Chemical Energy Systems}, booktitle = {SolarPACES: Solar Power \& Chemical Energy Systems}, number = {2815 / 1}, publisher = {AIP conference proceedings / American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville, NY}, isbn = {978-0-7354-4623-6}, issn = {1551-7616 (online)}, doi = {10.1063/5.0151514}, pages = {8 Seiten}, year = {2023}, abstract = {Despite the challenges of pioneering molten salt towers (MST), it remains the leading technology in central receiver power plants today, thanks to cost effective storage integration and high cost reduction potential. The limited controllability in volatile solar conditions can cause significant losses, which are difficult to estimate without comprehensive modeling [1]. This paper presents a Methodology to generate predictions of the dynamic behavior of the receiver system as part of an operating assistance system (OAS). Based on this, it delivers proposals if and when to drain and refill the receiver during a cloudy period in order maximize the net yield and quantifies the amount of net electricity gained by this. After prior analysis with a detailed dynamic two-phase model of the entire receiver system, two different reduced modeling approaches where developed and implemented in the OAS. A tailored decision algorithm utilizes both models to deliver the desired predictions efficiently and with appropriate accuracy.}, language = {en} } @incollection{HoffschmidtAlexopoulosRauetal.2022, author = {Hoffschmidt, Bernhard and Alexopoulos, Spiros and Rau, Christoph and Sattler, Johannes, Christoph and Anthrakidis, Anette and Teixeira Boura, Cristiano Jos{\´e} and O'Connor, B. and Chico Caminos, R.A. and Rend{\´o}n, C. and Hilger, P.}, title = {Concentrating solar power}, series = {Comprehensive Renewable Energy (Second Edition) / Volume 3: Solar Thermal Systems: Components and Applications}, booktitle = {Comprehensive Renewable Energy (Second Edition) / Volume 3: Solar Thermal Systems: Components and Applications}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, isbn = {978-0-12-819734-9}, pages = {670 -- 724}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The focus of this chapter is the production of power and the use of the heat produced from concentrated solar thermal power (CSP) systems. The chapter starts with the general theoretical principles of concentrating systems including the description of the concentration ratio, the energy and mass balance. The power conversion systems is the main part where solar-only operation and the increase in operational hours. Solar-only operation include the use of steam turbines, gas turbines, organic Rankine cycles and solar dishes. The operational hours can be increased with hybridization and with storage. Another important topic is the cogeneration where solar cooling, desalination and of heat usage is described. Many examples of commercial CSP power plants as well as research facilities from the past as well as current installed and in operation are described in detail. The chapter closes with economic and environmental aspects and with the future potential of the development of CSP around the world.}, language = {en} } @incollection{HoffschmidtAlexopoulosGoettscheetal.2022, author = {Hoffschmidt, Bernhard and Alexopoulos, Spiros and G{\"o}ttsche, Joachim and Sauerborn, Markus and Kaufhold, O.}, title = {High Concentration Solar Collectors}, series = {Comprehensive Renewable Energy (Second Edition) / Volume 3: Solar Thermal Systems: Components and Applications}, booktitle = {Comprehensive Renewable Energy (Second Edition) / Volume 3: Solar Thermal Systems: Components and Applications}, publisher = {Elsevier}, address = {Amsterdam}, isbn = {978-0-12-819734-9}, doi = {10.1016/B978-0-12-819727-1.00058-3}, pages = {198 -- 245}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Solar thermal concentrated power is an emerging technology that provides clean electricity for the growing energy market. To the solar thermal concentrated power plant systems belong the parabolic trough, the Fresnel collector, the solar dish, and the central receiver system. For high-concentration solar collector systems, optical and thermal analysis is essential. There exist a number of measurement techniques and systems for the optical and thermal characterization of the efficiency of solar thermal concentrated systems. For each system, structure, components, and specific characteristics types are described. The chapter presents additionally an outline for the calculation of system performance and operation and maintenance topics. One main focus is set to the models of components and their construction details as well as different types on the market. In the later part of this article, different criteria for the choice of technology are analyzed in detail.}, language = {en} } @article{PeereBlanke2022, author = {Peere, Wouter and Blanke, Tobias}, title = {GHEtool: An open-source tool for borefield sizing in Python}, series = {Journal of Open Source Software}, volume = {7}, journal = {Journal of Open Source Software}, number = {76}, editor = {Vernon, Chris}, issn = {2475-9066}, doi = {10.21105/joss.04406}, pages = {1 -- 4, 4406}, year = {2022}, abstract = {GHEtool is a Python package that contains all the functionalities needed to deal with borefield design. It is developed for both researchers and practitioners. The core of this package is the automated sizing of borefield under different conditions. The sizing of a borefield is typically slow due to the high complexity of the mathematical background. Because this tool has a lot of precalculated data, GHEtool can size a borefield in the order of tenths of milliseconds. This sizing typically takes the order of minutes. Therefore, this tool is suited for being implemented in typical workflows where iterations are required. GHEtool also comes with a graphical user interface (GUI). This GUI is prebuilt as an exe-file because this provides access to all the functionalities without coding. A setup to install the GUI at the user-defined place is also implemented and available at: https://www.mech.kuleuven.be/en/tme/research/thermal_systems/tools/ghetool.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{BlankeSchmidtGoettscheetal.2022, author = {Blanke, Tobias and Schmidt, Katharina S. and G{\"o}ttsche, Joachim and D{\"o}ring, Bernd and Frisch, J{\´e}r{\^o}me and van Treeck, Christoph}, title = {Time series aggregation for energy system design: review and extension of modelling seasonal storages}, series = {Energy Informatics}, volume = {5}, booktitle = {Energy Informatics}, number = {1, Article number: 17}, editor = {Weidlich, Anke and Neumann, Dirk and Gust, Gunther and Staudt, Philipp and Sch{\"a}fer, Mirko}, publisher = {Springer Nature}, issn = {2520-8942}, doi = {10.1186/s42162-022-00208-5}, pages = {14 Seiten}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Using optimization to design a renewable energy system has become a computationally demanding task as the high temporal fluctuations of demand and supply arise within the considered time series. The aggregation of typical operation periods has become a popular method to reduce effort. These operation periods are modelled independently and cannot interact in most cases. Consequently, seasonal storage is not reproducible. This inability can lead to a significant error, especially for energy systems with a high share of fluctuating renewable energy. The previous paper, "Time series aggregation for energy system design: Modeling seasonal storage", has developed a seasonal storage model to address this issue. Simultaneously, the paper "Optimal design of multi-energy systems with seasonal storage" has developed a different approach. This paper aims to review these models and extend the first model. The extension is a mathematical reformulation to decrease the number of variables and constraints. Furthermore, it aims to reduce the calculation time while achieving the same results.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{ZahraPhaniSrujanCaminosetal.2022, author = {Zahra, Mahdi and Phani Srujan, Merige and Caminos, Ricardo Alexander Chico and Schmitz, Pascal and Herrmann, Ulf and Teixeira Boura, Cristiano Jos{\´e} and Schmitz, Mark and Gielen, Hans and Gedle, Yibekal and Dersch, J{\"u}rgen}, title = {Modeling the thermal behavior of solar salt in electrical resistance heaters for the application in PV-CSP hybrid power plants}, series = {SOLARPACES 2020}, booktitle = {SOLARPACES 2020}, number = {2445 / 1}, publisher = {AIP conference proceedings / American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville, NY}, isbn = {978-0-7354-4195-8}, issn = {1551-7616 (online)}, doi = {10.1063/5.0086268}, pages = {9 Seiten}, year = {2022}, abstract = {Concentrated Solar Power (CSP) systems are able to store energy cost-effectively in their integrated thermal energy storage (TES). By intelligently combining Photovoltaics (PV) systems with CSP, a further cost reduction of solar power plants is expected, as well as an increase in dispatchability and flexibility of power generation. PV-powered Resistance Heaters (RH) can be deployed to raise the temperature of the molten salt hot storage from 385 °C up to 565 °C in a Parabolic Trough Collector (PTC) plant. To avoid freezing and decomposition of molten salt, the temperature distribution in the electrical resistance heater is investigated in the present study. For this purpose, a RH has been modeled and CFD simulations have been performed. The simulation results show that the hottest regions occur on the electric rod surface behind the last baffle. A technical optimization was performed by adjusting three parameters: Shell-baffle clearance, electric rod-baffle clearance and number of baffles. After the technical optimization was carried out, the temperature difference between the maximum temperature and the average outlet temperature of the salt is within the acceptable limits, thus critical salt decomposition has been avoided. Additionally, the CFD simulations results were analyzed and compared with results obtained with a one-dimensional model in Modelica.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{CaminosSchmitzAttietal.2022, author = {Caminos, Ricardo Alexander Chico and Schmitz, Pascal and Atti, Vikrama and Mahdi, Zahra and Teixeira Boura, Cristiano Jos{\´e} and Sattler, Johannes Christoph and Herrmann, Ulf and Hilger, Patrick and Dieckmann, Simon}, title = {Development of a micro heliostat and optical qualification assessment with a 3D laser scanning method}, series = {SOLARPACES 2020}, booktitle = {SOLARPACES 2020}, number = {2445 / 1}, publisher = {AIP conference proceedings / American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville, NY}, isbn = {978-0-7354-4195-8}, issn = {1551-7616 (online)}, doi = {10.1063/5.0086262}, pages = {8 Seiten}, year = {2022}, abstract = {The Solar-Institut J{\"u}lich (SIJ) and the companies Hilger GmbH and Heliokon GmbH from Germany have developed a small-scale cost-effective heliostat, called "micro heliostat". Micro heliostats can be deployed in small-scale concentrated solar power (CSP) plants to concentrate the sun's radiation for electricity generation, space or domestic water heating or industrial process heat. In contrast to conventional heliostats, the special feature of a micro heliostat is that it consists of dozens of parallel-moving, interconnected, rotatable mirror facets. The mirror facets array is fixed inside a box-shaped module and is protected from weathering and wind forces by a transparent glass cover. The choice of the building materials for the box, tracking mechanism and mirrors is largely dependent on the selected production process and the intended application of the micro heliostat. Special attention was paid to the material of the tracking mechanism as this has a direct influence on the accuracy of the micro heliostat. The choice of materials for the mirror support structure and the tracking mechanism is made in favor of plastic molded parts. A qualification assessment method has been developed by the SIJ in which a 3D laser scanner is used in combination with a coordinate measuring machine (CMM). For the validation of this assessment method, a single mirror facet was scanned and the slope deviation was computed.}, language = {en} } @inproceedings{NiederwestbergSchneiderTeixeiraBouraetal.2022, author = {Niederwestberg, Stefan and Schneider, Falko and Teixeira Boura, Cristiano Jos{\´e} and Herrmann, Ulf}, title = {Introduction to a direct irradiated transparent tube particle receiver}, series = {SOLARPACES 2020}, booktitle = {SOLARPACES 2020}, number = {2445 / 1}, publisher = {AIP conference proceedings / American Institute of Physics}, address = {Melville, NY}, isbn = {978-0-7354-4195-8}, issn = {1551-7616 (online)}, doi = {10.1063/5.0086735}, pages = {9 Seiten}, year = {2022}, abstract = {New materials often lead to innovations and advantages in technical applications. This also applies to the particle receiver proposed in this work that deploys high-temperature and scratch resistant transparent ceramics. With this receiver design, particles are heated through direct-contact concentrated solar irradiance while flowing downwards through tubular transparent ceramics from top to bottom. In this paper, the developed particle receiver as well as advantages and disadvantages are described. Investigations on the particle heat-up characteristics from solar irradiance were carried out with DEM simulations which indicate that particle temperatures can reach up to 1200 K. Additionally, a simulation model was set up for investigating the dynamic behavior. A test receiver at laboratory scale has been designed and is currently being built. In upcoming tests, the receiver test rig will be used to validate the simulation results. The design and the measurement equipment is described in this work.}, language = {en} }