Optimal control of a heat exchange process using a perturbation signal

Based on the recent summit in Copenhagen, it is obvious that all nations are taking climate change seriously. One of the areas that countries are focusing on is reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by reducing their overall energy consumption. Industrial Countries are encouraging consumers to buy appliances that are deemed energy efficient using an Energy Star rating. Heat exchange systems (heat pumps, refrigerators, air conditioning systems, …) are one of the most common household appliances and despite over sixty years of heat exchange technology, there is still room for improvement in this area. Heat exchange systems work by absorbing heat from indoor or outdoor through the refrigerant in the evaporator, and transferring it to the ambient or indoor via condenser coils. The operation of a heat exchange system is affected when the external conditions such as temperature change, which causes the workload of the system to be altered. One of the major problems in heat exchange technology is when the workload changes the whole refrigerant in the evaporators does not convert from liquid to gaseous state while it exits the evaporators and enters the compressor. Exist of liquid in the entering refrigerant to compressor causes serious damage to the compressor. Danfoss is committed to figuring out a way to optimize the efficiency of heat exchange systems, in particular heat pumps and refrigeration systems while reducing the risk of damage to the compressor. We will attempt to do this by running experiments such as applying modern control theories to open/close the valves in appropriate time.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Mehrdad Saif

Student:

Kaveh Kianfar

Partner:

Danfoss Inc.

Discipline:

Engineering - mechanical

Sector:

Environmental industry

University:

Simon Fraser University