Automated Distributed System for Utilization of Low-temperature Energy of Mine Water and Ventilation Air on the Basis of the Technology of Heat Pumps

Abstract

The energy crisis and the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions require research in the practical development of energy systems based on alternative energy sources. The article discusses the possibility of using heat pumps for heat utilization of mine water and ventilation air. Application of the large number of pumps requires automatic control of the operation parameters in order to optimize the whole system.Control issues of an individual heat pump were well reviewed by researchers in many sources. At the same time there are much less works devoted to analysis of the operation issues and control regimes of groups of heat pumps. And very small number of works is devoted to the questions of supervisory control of groups of heat pumps, which consist of heat pumps “water – water” and “air – water”.The aim of the study is to validate the feasibility of using heat pumps for heat utilization of mine waters and ventilation air, and development of algorithms for supervisory control of distributed system for utilization of heat from these sources, as well as formation of optimum modes of teamwork of heat pumps, both on the surface and in the deep horizons of the mine. In the article the classical methods of analysis parameters of the particular system at one of the mines of Kryvyi Rih Basin and methods of the modern theory of automatic supervisory control of distributed systems were used. The processes visualization techniques considering a human perception and decision-making had also been applied when creating the human-machine interface of automated distributed system for utilization of low-temperature energy of mine water and ventilation air.