modelCollectorPump

Controller which activates a circulation pump when solar radiation is above a critical level

Extends from Modelica.Blocks.Icons.Block (Basic graphical layout of input/output block).

Information

Pump on/off controller for a solar thermal system.

This controller outputs whether the pump should be commanded on or off based on the incident solar radiation, the collector inlet temperature, and the system parameters. The pump is commanded on when the incident solar radiation is greater than the critical radiation plus the offset delQ_flow, and it is switched off if the incident solar radiation is below the critical radiation.

The critical radiation is defined per Equation 6.8.2 in Duffie and Beckman (2006). It is

GTC=(FRUL (TIn-TEnv)) /(FR(τα))

where GTC is the critical solar radiation, FRUL is the heat loss coefficient, TIn is the inlet temperature, TEnv is the ambient temperature, and FR(τα) is the maximum efficiency.

References

J.A. Duffie and W.A. Beckman 2006, Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes (3rd Edition), John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Parameters

TypeNameDefaultDescription
Modelica.Units.SI.HeatFlowRatedelQ_flow10Required estimated heat gain per unit area of collector to switch system on
Modelica.Units.SI.AngleaziSurface azimuth (0 for south-facing; -90 degree for east-facing; +90 degree for west facing
Modelica.Units.SI.AngletilSurface tilt (0 for horizontally mounted collector)
Realrho0.2Ground reflectance
Buildings.Fluid.SolarCollectors.Data.GenericASHRAE93perPerformance data

Connectors

TypeNameDefaultDescription
Modelica.Blocks.Interfaces.RealInputTInFluid temperature entering the collector
Modelica.Blocks.Interfaces.BooleanOutputonOuputs true if collector pump should be on
Buildings.BoundaryConditions.WeatherData.BusweaBusWeather data input

Components

TypeNameDefaultDescription
Buildings.Fluid.SolarCollectors.Controls.BaseClasses.GCritCalccriSolCalculates the critical insolation based on collector design and current weather conditions
BoundaryConditions.SolarIrradiation.DiffusePerezHDifTilIsoDiffuse solar irradiation on a tilted surface
BoundaryConditions.SolarIrradiation.DirectTiltedSurfaceHDirTilDirect solar irradiation on a tilted surface
Modelica.Blocks.Math.AddHTotTilTotal irradiation on tilted surface
Modelica.Blocks.Logical.Hysteresishys

Revisions

  • February 15, 2024, by Jelger Jansen:
    Refactor model.
    This is for Buildings, #3604.
  • November 7, 2022, by Michael Wetter:
    Corrected implementation to make comparison based on total irradiation on tilted surface rather than the direct normal irradiation. This required adding parameters for the azimuth, tilt and ground reflectance.
    Changed output from continuous signal to boolean on/off signal as the old implementation run the pump possibly at very small flow rates. Moved old model to Buildings.Obsolete package.
    This is for issue 3074.
  • January 15, 2013 by Peter Grant:
    First implementation.