Resistance Characteristic Parameters Estimation of Hydraulic Model in Heating Networks Based on Real-Time Operation Data

Heating systems are essential municipal infrastructure in winter, especially in severe cold cities of China. The safety and efficiency of heating systems greatly affect building energy efficiency and indoor thermal comfort. Heating networks (HNs), playing the role of transportation, are the key parts of heating systems. In HNs, hydraulic models could be affected by the accuracy of resistance characteristic parameters, which are expressed by pipe friction parameters (PFPs) in this paper. As the uniqueness of the estimation results of PFPs has not been discussed in previous studies, this paper builds an estimation method of PFPs by dividing two types of pipes, substituting variables and establishing a split-step linearization method. Combining with the theory of matrix equations, the decision conditions and solution methods for obtaining the unique estimation results of PFPs are determined. Theoretical analysis and case study results show that estimation values of PFPs can be obtained by utilizing measured data under multiple hydraulic conditions. In the example of DN and the simple actual HN, the average estimation deviation of PFPs is 1.42% and 1.86%, which are accurate enough for actual engineering. Estimation results of PFPs obtained by this method guarantee the accuracy of analysis and regulation in heating systems and improve social energy utilization efficiency.