An ever-expanding global industry focuses attention on energy supply and use. Cost-effective electrical energy production and reduced consumption pave the way for this expansion. Eskom’s demand-side management (DSM) initiative provides the opportunity for reduced electricity consumption with cost-effective implementation for their respective clients. South African gold mines have to extend their operations to up to 4000 m below the surface to maintain profitable operations. Deep-level mining therefore requires large and energy-intensive cooling installations to provide safe working conditions. These installations generally consist of industrial chillers, cooling towers, bulk air coolers and water transport systems. All of these components operate in unison to provide chilled service water and cooled ventilation air underground. In this study the improved energy efficiency and control of a South African gold mine’s cooling plant is investigated. The plant is separated into a primary and secondary cooling load, resulting in a cascading cooling system. Necessary research was conducted to determine the optimal solution to improve the plant’s performance and electrical energy usage. Variable speed drives (VSD) were installed on the chiller evaporator and condenser water pumps to provide variable flow control of the water through the chillers, resulting in reduced motor electricity usage. Potential electricity savings were simulated. Proposed savings were estimated at 600 kW (13.6%) daily, with an expected saving of R 2 275 000 yearly, resulting in a payback period of less than 9 months. Results indicated are based on total savings, as VSD savings and control savings were combined. The VSDs that were installed, were controlled according to an optimum simulation model’s philosophy. A real-time energy management program was used to control the VSDs and monitor the respective systems. The program’s remote capabilities allow for off-site monitoring and control adjustments. A control strategy, which was implemented using the management program, is discussed. Energy efficiency was achieved through the respective installations and control improvements. The results were analysed over an assessment period of three months to determine the viability of the intervention. A newly installed Bulk Air Cooler (BAC) added to the service delivery of the cooling plant post installation of the VSDs. Focusing on service delivery to underground showed a savings of 1.7 MW (33.6%) daily and a payback period of 3.6 months (0.3 years). The overall implementation showed an average energy saving of 2.3 MW (47.1%) daily, with the result that a daily saving of R 23 988.20 was experienced, reducing the payback period to 2.3 months (0.2 years). Through the installation of energy-efficiency technology and a suitable control philosophy, a cost-effective, energy-efficiency improvement was created on the case-study cooling plant. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

An ever-expanding global industry focuses attention on energy supply and use. Cost-effective electrical energy production and reduced consumption pave the way for this expansion. Eskom’s demand-side management (DSM) initiative provides the opportunity for reduced electricity consumption with cost-effective implementation for their respective clients. South African gold mines have to extend their operations to up to 4000 m below the surface to maintain profitable operations. Deep-level mining therefore requires large and energy-intensive cooling installations to provide safe working conditions. These installations generally consist of industrial chillers, cooling towers, bulk air coolers and water transport systems. All of these components operate in unison to provide chilled service water and cooled ventilation air underground. In this study the improved energy efficiency and control of a South African gold mine’s cooling plant is investigated. The plant is separated into a primary and secondary cooling load, resulting in a cascading cooling system. Necessary research was conducted to determine the optimal solution to improve the plant’s performance and electrical energy usage. Variable speed drives (VSD) were installed on the chiller evaporator and condenser water pumps to provide variable flow control of the water through the chillers, resulting in reduced motor electricity usage. Potential electricity savings were simulated. Proposed savings were estimated at 600 kW (13.6%) daily, with an expected saving of R 2 275 000 yearly, resulting in a payback period of less than 9 months. Results indicated are based on total savings, as VSD savings and control savings were combined. The VSDs that were installed, were controlled according to an optimum simulation model’s philosophy. A real-time energy management program was used to control the VSDs and monitor the respective systems. The program’s remote capabilities allow for off-site monitoring and control adjustments. A control strategy, which was implemented using the management program, is discussed. Energy efficiency was achieved through the respective installations and control improvements. The results were analysed over an assessment period of three months to determine the viability of the intervention. A newly installed Bulk Air Cooler (BAC) added to the service delivery of the cooling plant post installation of the VSDs. Focusing on service delivery to underground showed a savings of 1.7 MW (33.6%) daily and a payback period of 3.6 months (0.3 years). The overall implementation showed an average energy saving of 2.3 MW (47.1%) daily, with the result that a daily saving of R 23 988.20 was experienced, reducing the payback period to 2.3 months (0.2 years). Through the installation of energy-efficiency technology and a suitable control philosophy, a cost-effective, energy-efficiency improvement was created on the case-study cooling plant. / MIng (Mechanical Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

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The high ozone depletion and global warming potentials of fluorocarbon refrigerants have resulted in prohibitions and restrictions in many markets. Hydrocarbon refrigerants have low environmental impacts and are successfully used in domestic refrigerators and car air conditioners but replacing fluorocarbons in centrifugal chillers for air conditioning applications is unknown. Hydrocarbon replacements need a heat transfer correlation for refrigerant in flooded evaporators and predictions for operating conditions, capacity and performance. Safety precautions for large quantities of hydrocarbon refrigerants are needed and control of overpressure in plantrooms requires accurate prediction. Reliable correlations exist for forced convection in a single phase flow, condensation outside tubes and evaporation off sprayed tubes. For flooded evaporators this thesis proposes a new correlation for forced convection boiling of any refrigerant. An enhancement factor is combined with a modified Chen coefficient using recent pool boiling and forced convection correlations outside tubes. This correlates within typically a factor of two to known boiling literature measurements for CFC-113, CFC-11, HCFC-123, HFC-134a and HC-601. The operating conditions, capacity and performance of replacement hydrocarbons in centrifugal chillers were predicted using fluorocarbon performance as a model. With the new heat transfer correlation hydrocarbon predictions for flooded evaporators were made. For any fluorocarbon refrigerant there exists a replacement mixture of hydrocarbons which with a rotor speed increase about 40% gives the same cooling capacity in the same centrifugal chiller under the same operating conditions. For example replacing HCFC-123 in a flooded evaporator with HC-601/602 [90.4/9.6] and increasing the rotor speed by 43% will increase the coefficient of performance by 4.5% at the same cooling capacity. The maximum plantroom overpressure considered was from leakage and ignition of a uniform air/refrigerant mixture with maximum laminar burning velocity. Flow was modelled using a turbulence viscosity due to Launder and Spalding and turbulent deflagration using a reaction progress variable after Zimont. These partial differential equations were solved approximately for two and three dimensional geometries using finite volume methods from the Fluent program suite. Simple overpressure predictions from maximum flame area approximations agreed with Fluent results within 13.7% promising safe plantroom design without months of computer calculation.

HCFC-22 is the world�s most widely used refrigerant. It serves in both residential and commercial applications, from small window units to large water chillers, and everything in between. Its particular combination of efficiency, capacity and pressure has made it a popular choice for equipment designers. Nevertheless, it does have some ODP, so international law set forth in the Montreal Protocol and its Copenhagen and Vienna amendments have put HCFC-22 on a phase out schedule. In developed countries, production of HCFC-22 will end no later than the year 2030. Zeotropic blend HFC-407C has been established as a drop-in alternative for HCFC-22 in the industry due to their zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and similarities in thermodynamic properties and performance. However, when a system is charged with a zeotropic mixture, it raises concerns about temperature glide at two-phase state, differential oil solubility and internal composition shift. Not enough research has been done to cover all aspects of alternative refrigerants applications in the systems. This research intended to explore behavior of this alternative refrigerants compare to HCFC-22 and challenges facing the industry in design, operation service and maintenance of these equipments. The purpose of this research is to investigate behavior of R407C refrigerant in chiller systems. This includes performance and efficiency variations when it replaces R22 in an existing system as well as challenges involved maintaining the system charged with R407C. It is a common practice in the industry these days to evacuate and completely recharge when part of the new refrigerant blend was leaked from the system. This has proved to be extremely costly exercise with grave environmental ramifications. This research is intended to address challenges faced in the real world and practical terms. Theoretical and experimental approaches used as a methodology in this work. The system mathematically modeled to predict detailed system performance and effect of the leak at various conditions. To make this feasible and accurate enough, two separate approaches made, first system performance for pure R22 and R407C, and second system subjected to range of leak fractions. The earlier model was relatively straight forward when compared to the latter. Modeling a system charged with R407C ternary mixture and subjected to range of leaks posed enormous challenges. A sophisticated experimental test apparatus was also designed and built. Comprehensive and detailed tests at various conditions were conducted with special attention on instrumental accuracy and correct methodology. The first part has been successfully modeled and predicted all the factors and performance with excellent accuracy when compared to the test results. In these approaches pure refrigerants R22 and R407C were used and simulated the system behavior at range of conditions. However, the second part was the most challenging ever. Comprehensive leak process simulations produced trends of R32/R125/R134a composition change as function of rate of leak. Starting from this point, equations have been created to represent the composition change as function of percentage of the leak. The system thermodynamic cycle was also modeled to calculate capacity, power input and COP at the range of the conditions. Despite many affecting parameters and complexity of the model, the mathematical model successfully predicted the test outcome with a very reasonable accuracy, averaging around 3% with some times reaching to 5 to 6%. On the experimental stage the system charged with the new HFC-407C was deliberately subjected to refrigerant leak at various leak stages. The aim was to objectively determine to what extend the gas leak can be still acceptable without going through the expensive complete gas charge. The effect of leak was tested and verified at 10% steps, from 10% up to 50% mass fraction for the total charge. It has been observed that at the leaks beyond 30%, the adverse effect on the capacity becomes more significant, from 8 to about 15% decrease. While the power input decreased at slower pace, from 3% up to about 8% depending on the test conditions. This translated to COP decrease ranging from 4 to about 7%. This capacity loss and efficiency decrease are significant figures which suggests that the system, here chiller, can not be allowed to degrade the performance to that extend and still continue operating.

This master’s thesis has been performed in Bangkok, Thailand at the company Eco Design Consultant Co., Ltd. The aim is to investigate the possibilities to generate absorption cooling from municipal solid waste in the Bangkok area. The investigation includes a comparison between waste incineration and biogas production with combustion to see which alternative is preferable. During the investigation, a Swedish perspective has been used. The research for the report mainly consisted of published scientific articles from acknowledged sources as well as information from different Thai authorities. Also, experts within different areas were contacted and interviewed. In order to determine which of the two techniques (waste incineration or biogas production with combustion) that is best suited to generate absorption cooling, a model was designed. This model involved several parameters regarding e.g. plant efficiency, amount of treated waste and internal heat usage. As for the results of the model, three parameters were calculated: the generated cooling, the net electricity generation and the reduced greenhouse emissions. The overall Thai municipal solid waste generation in Thailand is estimated to approximately 15 million tons per year and the majority of the waste ends up at open dumps or landfills. There are only two to three waste incinerators in the country and a few projects with biogas generation from municipal solid waste. The main electricity is today generated from natural gas which makes the majority of the Thai electricity production fossil fuel based. As for absorption cooling, two applications of this technique has been found in Thailand during the research; one at the Naresuan University and one at the Suvarnabhumi airport in Bangkok. The model resulted in that the best alternative to power absorption cooling technique is waste incineration. This alternative has potential to generate 3200 GWh cooling per year and 1100 GWh electricity per year. Also, this alternative resulted in the largest decrease of greenhouse gas emissions, ‐500 000 tons per year. The model also showed that the same amounts of generated cooling and electricity can never be achieved from biogas production with combustion compared to waste incineration. Regardless, waste incineration has an important drawback: the citizens of Thailand seem to oppose further development of waste incineration in the country. The biogas technique seems more approved in Thailand, which benefits this alternative. Due to the high moisture and organic content in the municipal solid waste, a combination between the two waste handling alternatives is suggested. This way, the most energy can be withdrawn from the waste and the volume of disposed waste is minimized. Our overall conclusion is that the absorption cooling technique has great potential in Thailand. There is an increasing power‐ and cooling demand, absorption cooling generated from either or both of the alternatives can satisfy these demands while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We also believes that the cost for using absorption cooling has to be lower than for the current compression cooling if the new technique is to be implemented further.

This dissertation proposed a new methodology for determining the optimal operating strategies for a chilled water storage system under a Time-of-Use electricity rate structure. It is based on a new classification of operating strategies and an investigation of multiple search paths. Each operating strategy consists of a control strategy and the maximum number of chillers running during the off-peak and on-peak periods. For each month, the strategy with the lowest monthly billing cost and minimal water level higher than the setpoint is selected as the optimal operating strategy for the current month. A system model is built to simulate the tank water level at the end of each time step and the system total power during each time step. This model includes six sub-models. Specifically, the plant model is a forward model using a wire-to-water concept to simulate the plant total power. For the Thermal Energy Storage (TES) model, the tank state is described with total chilled water volume in the tank and its derivation is the tank charging or discharging flow rate. A regression model is adopted to simulate the loop supply and return temperature difference as well as the loop total flow rate demand. In the control strategy sub-model, except for three conventional control strategies and the operation without TES, a new control strategy is advanced to load the chiller optimally. The final results will be a table showing the monthly control strategy and maximal number of chillers staged on during the off-peak and on-peak periods, an approach which is easy for the operators to follow. Two project applications of this methodology are introduced in this dissertation. One is an existing TES system with state-of-the-art control and metering systems. The monthly optimal operating strategies are generated, which will achieve significant savings. The comparisons among different control strategies are also provided. The other application consists of multiple plants with little data. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the economic feasibility of designing a new chilled water storage tank and sharing it among four plants. This problem can be solved with a simplified system model, and an optimal tank size is recommended.

Optimal chiller loading (OCL) is described as a means to improve the energy efficiency of a chiller plant operation. It is formulated as a multi-period constrained mixed integer non-linear optimization problem to optimize the total cooling load distribution through accurate chiller models. OCL is solved as a set of quadratic programs using sequential programming algorithm (SQP) in MATLAB. Based on application of the methodology to chiller systems at UT Austin and a semiconductor manufacturing facility, OCL can result in an annual energy savings of about 8%. However, the savings may reduce considerably in case of additional physical constraints on overall plant operation. With the addition of thermal energy storage (TES) to the system, OCL can reduce the daily cooling costs in the case of time varying electricity prices by 13.45% on an average. The energy efficiency of a chiller plant as a function of its chiller arrangement is studied by using fitted chiller models. If all other variables are kept same, chillers operating in parallel consume up to 9.62% less power as compared to when they are operated in series. Otherwise, chillers may operate up to 12.26% more efficiently in series depending on their chilled water outlet temperature values. The answer to the optimal chiller arrangement can be straightforward in some cases or can be a complex optimization problem in others. / text

Hungary’s share of renewable energy in 2010 was 7.9 %, and their renewable energy goal for 2020 is 14.65 %. Geothermal energy is one option that could help to achieve the goal, since Hungary has favorable bedrock, the temperature gradient is above average and thepermeability is high. Today Hungary is importing just over half of its primary energy supply. Because of political conflicts between nations Hungary wants to expand its own production of energy. One of the major investments implemented was to build the largest geothermal heating plant in central Europe, located in Miskolc. This degree theses aims is to raise the capacity factor for this heating plant. To achieve this objective, a survey of how grain dryers and absorption chillers could increase the heat load in the summer has been performed. With grain dryers that only dries wheat, the capacity factor for the geothermal heating plant in Miskolc increased by 2.6 % and by 4.4 % for the absorption chiller. Although surveys have been carried out for a specific case the idea can be implemented in other heating plants. Keywords: Capacity factor, geothermal energy, wheat dryers and absorptions chiller.

The high ozone depletion and global warming potentials of fluorocarbon refrigerants have resulted in prohibitions and restrictions in many markets. Hydrocarbon refrigerants have low environmental impacts and are successfully used in domestic refrigerators and car air conditioners but replacing fluorocarbons in centrifugal chillers for air conditioning applications is unknown. Hydrocarbon replacements need a heat transfer correlation for refrigerant in flooded evaporators and predictions for operating conditions, capacity and performance. Safety precautions for large quantities of hydrocarbon refrigerants are needed and control of overpressure in plantrooms requires accurate prediction. Reliable correlations exist for forced convection in a single phase flow, condensation outside tubes and evaporation off sprayed tubes. For flooded evaporators this thesis proposes a new correlation for forced convection boiling of any refrigerant. An enhancement factor is combined with a modified Chen coefficient using recent pool boiling and forced convection correlations outside tubes. This correlates within typically a factor of two to known boiling literature measurements for CFC-113, CFC-11, HCFC-123, HFC-134a and HC-601. The operating conditions, capacity and performance of replacement hydrocarbons in centrifugal chillers were predicted using fluorocarbon performance as a model. With the new heat transfer correlation hydrocarbon predictions for flooded evaporators were made. For any fluorocarbon refrigerant there exists a replacement mixture of hydrocarbons which with a rotor speed increase about 40% gives the same cooling capacity in the same centrifugal chiller under the same operating conditions. For example replacing HCFC-123 in a flooded evaporator with HC-601/602 [90.4/9.6] and increasing the rotor speed by 43% will increase the coefficient of performance by 4.5% at the same cooling capacity. The maximum plantroom overpressure considered was from leakage and ignition of a uniform air/refrigerant mixture with maximum laminar burning velocity. Flow was modelled using a turbulence viscosity due to Launder and Spalding and turbulent deflagration using a reaction progress variable after Zimont. These partial differential equations were solved approximately for two and three dimensional geometries using finite volume methods from the Fluent program suite. Simple overpressure predictions from maximum flame area approximations agreed with Fluent results within 13.7% promising safe plantroom design without months of computer calculation.