Simulation Based Fault Detection for Large Solar Thermal Systems
Abstract
Solar thermal systems are designed to function for about 25 years, but faults and malfunctions are likely to occur at a certain time, causing energy and economic losses. Fault detection and monitoring during the operation of large solar thermal systems is essential for ensuring a continuous optimal energy yield. This paper describes several aspects of a simulation-based approach to detect faults. In the simulation based approach, energy yields of large solar thermal systems are simulated with TRNSYS and then compared to measured data. TRNSYS models are developed with a modularized approach, so that the generation of a new model does not consume much time. Uncertainties of both measured and simulated data are taken into consideration for the fault analysis. Two case studies of large solar thermal systems, for which one year of measured data was available, are presented.