Exact time-varying turnpikes for dynamic operation of district heating networks

Journal
IEEE control systems letters  
Volume
9
Start Page
1706
End Page
1711
Citation
IEEE Control Systems Letters 9: 1706-1711 (2025)
Publisher DOI
10.1109/LCSYS.2025.3582614
Scopus ID
2-s2.0-105009635948
Publisher
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
District heating networks (DHNs) are crucial for decarbonizing the heating sector. Yet, their efficient and reliable operation requires the coordination of multiple heat producers and the consideration of future demands. Predictive and optimization-based control is commonly used to address this task, but existing results for DHNs do not account for time-varying problem aspects. Since the turnpike phenomenon can serve as a basis for model predictive control design and analysis, this paper examines its role in DHN optimization by analyzing the underlying optimal control problem with time-varying prices and demands. That is, we derive conditions for the existence of a unique time-varying singular arc, which constitutes the time varying turnpike, and we provide its closed-form expression. Additionally, we present converse turnpike results showing a exact time-varying case implies strict dissipativity of the optimal control problem. A numerical example illustrates our findings.
Subjects
Energy systems | Optimal Control | Predictive control for linear systems
DDC Class
333.7: Natural Resources, Energy and Environment
005: Computer Programming, Programs, Data and Security