South Campus Chiller

The South Campus Chiller Plant (SCCP) is a plant that removes heat from water via absorption refrigeration cycle. The chilled water is then circulated through heat exchangers to cool university of Idaho's equipment as required. The SCCP uses cooling towers to take the heat out of the water being sent out to campus. The cooling towers work by misting the warm water down through air. The amount of heat being pulled out of the water being misted down is affected by ambient temperature.

Problem Definition
The UI campus uses the chiller plant to provide cooling by using the SCCP as a central generator for chilled water which is then piped throughout the buildings to air handling units. The piped water then serves individual tenant spaces, single floors, or several floors. The campus chiller has multiple benefits such as greater energy efficiency, better controllability, and longer life. It is also efficient in terms of space utilization within the building because multiple components don't need to be in the same space. Throughout the year, our team worked on improving the quality, productivity and efficiency of the SCCP. This was done through various methods of data collection and analysis. The data collected from the SCCP's current operating conditions suggest some areas of inefficiencies, leading to unnecessary operating costs. Below is our project goals and plans on improving the efficiency of the SCCP.

Project Goals:

 * Specify, order, and install flow, pressure, and temperature sensors
 * Develop a working math model of the existing chiller system
 * Test math model against current operating conditions
 * Develop a control system solution strategy
 * Quick reference for plant efficiency's
 * Excel calculator for efficiency calculation

South Campus Chiller Specs:

 * 1,000,000 gal storage tank
 * Trending data for 50 thermodynamic states
 * HFC-134A Refrigerant
 * 500ton capacity(x2)
 * Evapco evaporators(x2)
 * 40Hp Armstrong Pumps(x2)
 * Kiltech chiller(x2)
 * ABB Variable Frequency Drive(x6)

Improved Efficiency
Our team was able to come up with an improved design of the SCCP which has better energy, cost, and performance efficiency. To improve on energy efficiency, seven extra compressors, to make a total of eight compressors. Each section of the SCCP will have 4 compressors, which will improve efficiency greatly. After a detailed cost analysis, it was decided to

Document Archive
Presentation: [[Media:Design_Review_Just_Chillin.pdf]]

Meeting Minutes: [[Media:meeting_min.pdf]]

EES Model: [[Media:SCCP_Complex_Rev_1_CMT_final.pdf]]

Excel Calculator: [[Media:calculator.xlsx.pdf]]