Master Thesis: Simulation and evaluation of different system variants/scenarios for the supply of a new residential quarter with low-temperature district heating

AEE INTEC

AEE - Institute for Sustainable Technologies (AEE INTEC) is a non-university research institute founded in 1988. AEE INTEC currently employs around 80 scientists from eleven nations and continuously awards dissertations, master's theses and internships. AEE INTEC works in the fields of "Buildings", "Cities and Networks", "Technology Development" and "Industrial Systems" on fundamental and application-oriented research in national and international R&D projects in cooperation with universities, colleges, other research institutions and industry.

Research project

"Anergy2Plus" is an Austrian research project carried out within the framework of the research programme "Stadt der Zukunft" (City of the Future). The aim of the project is to demonstrate and develop an anergy network as part of an integrated energy concept and a positive energy district. In a construction project in Herzogenburg (Lower Austria), a new residential quarter is being built, which will be supplied with heat for heating purposes and hot water on the basis of cold district heating. The project will be realised in several successive construction phases, in which the buildings to be constructed will be connected to the cold district heating network. In addition, the overall energy system will be expanded in the individual construction phases through technical measures (connection of expanded storage capacities, sources, etc.). Current measures related to the energy system will be investigated via a monitoring concept and conclusions and recommendations for the further implementation phases will be derived from this.

Master's thesis

The master thesis deals with the heat supply of a new residential quarter with a high share of renewables on the basis of cold district heating and includes the following tasks:

• Conception of different system variants for heat supply with cold district heating, taking into account local conditions.
• Modelling and simulation of the variants (variant study with DYMOLA)
• Evaluation of the results according to technical, economic and ecological aspects (KPIs)
• Derivation of recommendations for implementations of cold district heating (micro) networks in general and for further phases of the construction project in particular.

Research questions:

• Which system concepts can be considered, taking into account the objectives and the technical framework conditions?
• How is hot water and heating provided in the buildings for the different concepts? (centralised/decentralised)
• How can an optimal interaction of the system components be achieved through control concepts? (Temperature levels, storage capacities, control approaches, etc.)
• Which concepts enable the increase of flexibility, resilience and the share of renewables in the system?
• What are the technical, economic and ecological advantages and disadvantages of the different heat supply concepts (comparison of variants)?
• What recommendations for future design and implementation can be derived from the variant study?

We expect

• a solution-oriented, creative, independent and reliable way of working
• Training and understanding of process-relevant and sustainable technologies
• Interest in modelling and simulation based on thermodynamic principles and identification of the relationships between energy demand and sustainable supply

We offer

• Paid Master's thesis with close integration into an ongoing research project
• Supervision by experienced staff, competent technical support
• Time frame: Start from Q3 2021, duration about 6 months

Contact

Ingo Leusbrock
i.leusbrock@aee.at
+43 3112/5886-261