Approximation for Design and Control of Composite Thermal Fluid Systems

October 07, 2016, Webb 1100

John Burns

Virginia Tech, Mathematics Department

Abstract

In this presentation we discuss some modeling and computational issues that arise in control and optimization problems for thermal-uid systems. The problems are motivated by applications to aircraft environmental control systems (ECS), thermal management systems (TMS) and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems for buildings. We focus on heat exchangers, which are the basic components in thermal management systems and discuss the impact that actuator dynamics can have on modeling, approximation and control design. The problems are formulated as abstract boundary control problems and distributed parameter control theory is used to guide approximation and model reduction schemes. We present examples to highlight some technical issues that occur when dealing with the composite systems that occur when actuator dynamics are included as part of the model.

Speaker's Bio