A Modular Building Controls Virtual Test Bed for the Integrations of Heterogeneous Systems

This paper describes the Building Controls Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB) that is currently under development at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. An earlier prototype linked EnergyPlus with controls hardware through embedded SPARK models and demonstrated its value in more cost-effective envelope design and improved controls sequences for the San Francisco Federal Building. The BCVTB presented here is a more modular design based on a middleware that we built using Ptolemy II, a modular software environment for design and analysis of heterogeneous systems. Ptolemy II provides a graphical model building environment, synchronizes the exchanged data and visualizes the system evolution during run-time. Our additions to Ptolemy II allow users to couple to Ptolemy II a prototype version of EnergyPlus,MATLAB/Simulink or other simulation programs for data exchange during run-time. In future work we will also implement a BACnet interface that allows coupling BACnet compliant building automation systems to Ptolemy II. We will present the architecture of the BCVTB and explain how users can add their own simulation programs to the BCVTB. We will then present an example application in which the building envelope and the HVAC system was simulated in EnergyPlus, the supervisory control logic was simulated in MATLAB/Simulink and Ptolemy II was used to exchange data during run-time and to provide realtime visualization as the simulation progresses

Simulation model finned water-air-coil withoutcondensation

A simple simulation model of a finned water-to- air coil without condensation is presented. The model belongs to a collection of simulation models that allows eficient computer simulation of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. The main emphasis of the models is short computation time and use of input data that are known in the design process of an HVAC system. The target of the models is to describe the behavior of HVAC components in the part load operation mode, which is becoming increasingly important for energy efficient HVAC systems. The models are intended to be used for yearly energy calculation or load calculation with time steps of about 10 minutes or larger. Short-time dynamic effects, which are of interest for different aspects of control performance, are neglected. The part load behavior of the coil is expressed in terms of the nominal condition and the dimensionless variation of the heat transfer with change of mass flow and temperature on the water side and the air side. The effectiveness- NTU relations are used to parametrize the convective heat transfer at nominal conditions and to compute the part load conditions. Geometrical data for the coil are not required, The calculation of the convective heat transfer coefficients at nominal conditions is based on the ratio of the air side heat transfer coefficients multiplied by the fin eficiency and divided by the water side heat transfer coefficient. In this approach, the only geometrical information required are the cross section areas, which are needed to calculate the~uid velocities. The formulas for estimating this ratio are presented. For simplicity the model ignores condensation. The model is static and uses only explicit equations. The explicit formulation ensures short computation time and numerical stability. This allows using the model with sophisticated engineering methods such as automatic system optimization. The paper fully outlines the algorithm description and its simplifications. It is not tailored for a particular simulation program to ensure easy implementation in any simulation program

Observation of a topological edge state stabilized by dissipation

Robust states emerging at the boundary of a system constitute a hallmark for topological band structures. Other than in closed systems, topologically protected states can occur even in systems with a trivial band structure, if exposed to suitably modulated losses. Here, we study the dissipation-induced emergence of a topological band structure in a non-Hermitian one-dimensional lattice system, realized by arrays of plasmonic waveguides with tailored loss. We obtain direct evidence for a topological edge state that resides in the center of the band gap. By tuning dissipation and hopping, the formation and breakdown of an interface state between topologically distinct regions is demonstrated.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figure

Using SPARK as a Solver for Modelica

Modelica is an object-oriented acausal modeling language that is well positioned to become a de-facto standard for expressing models of complex physical systems. To simulate a model expressed in Modelica, it needs to be translated into executable code. For generating run-time efficient code, such a translation needs to employ algebraic formula manipulations. As the SPARK solver has been shown to be competitive for generating such code but currently cannot be used with the Modelica language, we report in this paper how SPARK's symbolic and numerical algorithms can be implemented in OpenModelica, an open-source implementation of a Modelica modeling and simulation environment. We also report benchmark results that show that for our air flow network simulation benchmark, the SPARK solver is competitive with Dymola, which is believed to provide the best solver for Modelica

Platform-based design for energy systems

Defossilization of the current energy system is a major requirement to decelerate anthropogenic climate change. However, a defossilized energy system is vastly more complex than current fossil-based energy systems: The integration of distributed energy resources and sector-coupling increases connectivity, demands interdisciplinary workflows, and creates a need for more sophisticated design processes. Inspired by the semiconductor and automotive industries, digitalization of the design process using platform-based design (PBD), coupled with the energy hub concept, can improve cost-effective energy systems design and accelerate the industry's contributions to achieving net-zero emissions. PBD is an efficient and effective methodology to manage and de-risk the complexity of integrated energy system design, leading to affordable and reliable solutions due to the inherent techno-economic analysis underlying the decision-making process. Combining the PBD framework with the energy hub concepts establishes a powerful design workflow for developing holistic energy systems from a single building up to the district and city scales. The fundamental tenets of this workflow, as discussed in this paper, are (1) the separation of functions from architectures, (2) the identification of abstraction levels at which systems can be analyzed and optimized, and (3) the ability to repurpose components at all levels of abstraction to aid design reuse and allow performance feedback at every stage of the process. We argue that PBD can become the next frontier in energy system design. PBD, as presented in this paper, is not limited to the energy sector, and it can also be a sub-process of an even more holistic infrastructure design. Spatial planning, architecture, and civil engineering can all be further integrated with the PBD concept, allowing societies to reach ambitious sustainability goals faster, at lower cost, and with greater resilience

Molecular characterization of the viaB locus encoding the biosynthetic machinery for Vi capsule formation in Salmonella Typhi

The Vi capsular polysaccharide (CPS) of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi, the cause of human typhoid, is important for infectivity and virulence. The Vi biosynthetic machinery is encoded within the viaB locus composed of 10 genes involved in regulation of expression (tviA), polymer synthesis (tviB-tviE), and cell surface localization of the CPS (vexA-vexE). We cloned the viaB locus from S. Typhi and transposon insertion mutants of individual viaB genes were characterized in Escherichia coli DH5α. Phenotype analysis of viaB mutants revealed that tviB, tviC, tviD and tviE are involved in Vi polymer synthesis. Furthermore, expression of tviB-tviE in E. coli DH5α directed the synthesis of cytoplasmic Vi antigen. Mutants of the ABC transporter genes vexBC and the polysaccharide copolymerase gene vexD accumulated the Vi polymer within the cytoplasm and productivity in these mutants was greatly reduced. In contrast, de novo synthesis of Vi polymer in the export deficient vexA mutant was comparable to wild-type cells, with drastic effects on cell stability. VexE mutant cells exported the Vi, but the CPS was not retained at the cell surface. The secreted polymer of a vexE mutant had different physical characteristics compared to the wild-type Vi

Simulation Speed Analysis and Improvements of Modelica Models for Building Energy Simulation

This paper presents an approach for speeding up Modelica models. Insight is provided into how Modelica models are solved and what determines the tool’s computational speed. Aspects such as algebraic loops, code efficiency and integrator choice are discussed. This is illustrated using simple building simulation examples and Dymola. The generality of the work is in some cases verified using OpenModelica. Using this approach, a medium sized office building including building envelope, heating ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems and control strategy can be simulated at a speed five hundred times faster than real time

Co-simulation of innovative integrated HVAC systems in buildings

Integrated performance simulation of buildings HVAC systems can help in reducing energy consumption and increasing occupant comfort. However, no single building performance simulation (BPS) tool offers sufficient capabilities and flexibilities to analyze integrated building systems and to enable rapid prototyping of innovative building and system technologies. One way to alleviate this problem is to use co-simulation, as an integrated approach to simulation. This article elaborates on issues important for co-simulation realization and discusses multiple possibilities to justify the particular approach implemented in the here described co-simulation prototype. The prototype is validated with the results obtained from the traditional simulation approach. It is further used in a proof-of-concept case study to demonstrate the applicability of the method and to highlight its benefits. Stability and accuracy of different coupling strategies are analyzed to give a guideline for the required coupling time step