State space model extraction of thermohydraulic systems - Part I: A linear graph approach

Thermohydraulic simulation codes are increasingly making use of graphical design interfaces. The user can quickly and easily design a thermohydraulic system by placing symbols on the screen resembling system components. These components can then be connected to form a system representation. Such system models may then be used to obtain detailed simulations of the physical system. Usually this kind of simulation models are too complex and not ideal for control system design. Therefore, a need exists for automated techniques to extract lumped parameter models useful for control system design. The goal of this first paper, in a two part series, is to propose a method that utilises a graphical representation of a thermohydraulic system, and a lumped parameter modelling approach, to extract state space models. In this methodology each physical domain of the thermohydraulic system is represented by a linear graph. These linear graphs capture the interaction between all components within and across energy domains - hydraulic, thermal and mechanical. These linear graphs are analysed using a graph-theoretic approach to derive reduced order state space models. These models capture the dominant dynamics of the thermohydraulic system and are ideal for control system design purposes. The proposed state space model extraction method is demonstrated by considering a U-tube system. A non-linear state space model is extracted representing both the hydraulic and thermal domain dynamics of the system. The simulated state space model is compared with a Flownex® model of the U-tube. Flownex® is a validated systems thermal-fluid simulation software package.