[esp-r] call for user contributed plant component notes and tips

[Jon Hand]

    Call for plant component notes and tips
                        26 October
                       - Jon Hand

Plant component selection and use will benefit from access to information
about the use, attributes and performance reporting of plant components.  We
want to capture the experience of the community to improve the documentation.

Users planning networks need to quickly identify the most
suitable components (especially where there are similar components).
They will be interested in what the component can usefully represent, 
its typical place in a network, other components is it known to work well 
with and exemplars that demonstrate its use. Hints about sensitivities
of the component, techniques for extracting and transforming manufacturers
information into attributes and testing correct deployment would also
be valuable.

Below is an example.  Following that is a template which you
could use as a starting point for discussing a component which you are
familiar with.   The words and phrases are important, format is not
important as we will be transforming contributions into context help
and tutorials.  If there are some points you do not feel you can
complete in the template perhaps others will - so this is the initial
stage of an iterative process.

And, if you have a plant network that could form a good exemplar
for the use of and for showing the relations between components
then lets find a way to get that embedded in the exemplars.

Please send your contributions, comments and model suggestions
to me so that we can begin to address the learning curve for plant 
systems.

Regards, Jon Hand, ESRU, Glasgow Scotland  jon at esru.strath.ac.uk


Example:

Component: AC duct (60) represents a portion of a duct system e.g. between 
a fan and an outlet grill or between a damper and a fan.  Depending on where 
it is placed in the model heat flows through the duct walls can impact the 
inside air temperature and warnings will be issued if condensation is 
likely during the simulation.

You are asked to supply the mass of the duct (kg), its average specific 
heat (J/kgK), its UA (W/K), Hydraulic diameter (m), cross sectional 
face area (m^2) and length (m). Some users will prefer to match this 
with specific components in their building and others to use ducts 
abstractly, e.g. only roughly indicate length and UA, and omit 
containment data.  

The psychometric state of the duct is available via the standard 
results analysis tool. Simulation trace includes intermediate calculation 
data which may aid in debugging.

If you will be using lots of ducts within the network, carefully consider 
a naming strategy which will make it easy to reference drawings and 
planning sketches.

AC ducts can be found in many of the exemplar models. The 
systems+control -> detailed mechanical ventilation system includes 
several ducts.


Template for contributing text about a specific component:

Component name: __

This component is designed to represent __.  

It is typically used in [low/high] resolution models in conjunction with component __.  

In comparison with component __ it offers the following facilities…..  

It is typically used with component __ as a __  

A good example of the use of this component can be found in exemplar __.

It tracks the following performance issues __ & __.

It has the following descriptive attributes:  a) ….   b) ….  c) …..

Hints:
Be sure to match attribute __ with data from the manufacturer.  For example __.  

Performance is sensitive to changes in attribute __.  The upper range of __ should not be exceeded.

In terms of containment the component is [sensitive/insensitive] to changes in zone conditions.

Typical controls applied to this component are __   Do not use this with a __ controller.

This component requires a [short, very short] time-step.