Study of a district heating system with the ring network technology and plate heat exchangers in a consumer substation

• The system of a DH ring network and mass flow control in a substation is simulated.
• Numeric models are constructed for the DH network, buildings, and heat exchangers.
• The maximum temperature cooling of the system is received.
• Flow rates, pressure losses, heat transfer, and performance factors are monitored.

Plate heat exchangers (PHE) have consolidated their position as key components of modern heating processes. They are widely accepted as the most suitable design for heat transfer applications in various processes, including the field of energy-efficient district heating (DH). This study refers to new DH coupling and control applied to a consumer substation. The concept introduces a new mass flow control model optimising the primary and secondary water streams to achieve remarkably higher temperature cooling in a new low temperature programme with diminished pressure losses. Here the operation of the ring network and the mass flow control in the substation are studied theoretically. A calculation procedure and transient models were constructed for the DH network, building structures, and heating heat exchangers. The PHE and its operation in the substation were studied by means of a corrugated plate model with five vertical parts and 10 elements. Variations in the flow rates, pressure losses, and overall heat transfer coefficients were received for the selected days. As a result almost equal heat capacity flows were found between the hot and cold sides of the PHE with maximum temperature cooling. The key performance factors of the heat exchanger, NTU and effectiveness, were monitored and the mean values obtained were 9.2 and 0.9, respectively.