Development of computer program for simulation of an ice bank system operation, Part I: Mathematical modelling

Since the use of standard engineering methods in the process of an ice bank performance evaluation offers neither adequate flexibility nor accuracy, the aim of this research was to provide a powerful tool for an industrial design of an ice storage system allowing to account for the various design parameters and system arrangements over a wide range of time varying operating conditions. In this paper the development of a computer application for the prediction of an ice bank system operation is presented. Static, indirect, cool thermal storage systems with external ice on coil building/melting were considered. The mathematical model was developed by means of energy and mass balance relations for each component of the system and is basically divided into two parts, the model of an ice storage system and the model of a refrigeration unit. Heat transfer processes in an ice silo were modelled by use of empirical correlations while the performance of refrigeration unit components were based on manufacturers data. Programming and application design were made in Fortran 95 language standard. Input of data is enabled through drop down menus and dialog boxes, while the results are presented via figures, diagrams and data (ASCII) files. In addition, to demonstrate the necessity for development of simulation program a case study was performed. Simulation results clearly indicate that no simple engineering methods or rule of thumb principles could be utilised in order to validate performance of an ice bank system properly.