The simulation of transients in thermal plant. Part I: Mathematical model

This paper deals with the simulation of the transient behaviour of thermal plant with control systems. It is always more difficult for a designer to predict the effects on the plant of the control processes because of the increasing complexity of plants and control systems. The easiest way to obtain information about the dynamic behaviour of a thermal plant at the design-stage involves assessing the suitability of specific computer codes. To this end, the present work demonstrates that nowadays it is possible, by using the opportunities offered by some general purpose calculation systems, to obtain such significant information. It is described how a “thermal-library” of customized blocks (one for each component of a thermal plant such as valves, boilers, and pumps) can be built and used, in an intuitive way, to study any kind of plant. As an example, the dynamic behaviour of a residential heating system will be shown in a companion paper, forming part II of the present article.