Ines Leobner

Interdisciplinary Strategies for Simulation-Based Optimization of Energy Efficiency in Production Facilities

This paper presents an approach for interdisciplinary optimization of energy efficiency in production plants. Domain-specific areas of action are discussed as well as the integration into a dynamic co-simulation that helps predicting the impact and financial benefit of selected energy saving measures by comparing and quantifying different scenarios. This should help giving incentives and creating impulses for strategic investment decisions. In a comprehensive methodological approach, optimization potential of both the production process itself as well as the production infrastructure is combined. The technical implementation involves several simulation environments and a framework for synchronization and data exchange in terms of co-simulation. The paper concludes with a discussion of some exemplary simulation results.

Using coupled simulation for planning of energy efficient production facilities

To meet the increasing requirements of sustainable production and to assure economic competitiveness, novel strategic approaches are necessary in designing production systems and to increase energy efficiency in the manufacturing industry. Individual areas within production facilities (e.g. production system, energy system, building hull) can be analyzed individually by using simulation-based methods. In order to access additional optimization potential, it is necessary to expand the boundaries of such simulations and to consider dynamic interactions between individual optimization fields. This work presents an approach for an interdisciplinary co-simulation, in which, for an overall integrated simulation, several simulation environments are coupled that periodically exchange data quasi-parallel at runtime. This allows not only to combine different model descriptions, but also multiple calculation algorithms, each specifically tailored to the individual needs of the respective field of engineering. A case study of a metal-cutting production facility presents an application example. The goal is to provide a decision-support tool for the early planning stages of production facilities that allows making qualified predictions about the effect and financial impact of different energy saving measures.

From BIM Models to Integrated Energy Efficiency Applications for Industrial Facilities

Raised interest in efficient use of available resources in industrial facilities prompts for software-tools to predict and manage energy demand of the whole system. An integrated approach considering all energy consumption contributors, classified into building, energy system, production and logistics, is developed within the research project Balanced Manufacturing (BaMa). Thereby BIM models of industrial spaces containing valuable information are used for creating a comprehensive representation of building-related aspects in a hybrid simulation environment, able to assess manufacturing and auxiliary energy demands.For testing the applicability of this integrated hybrid approach, a prototype is developed based on an actual use case. The simplification procedure is presented and the energy performance results are compared with that of an established building energy modelling software, discussing advantages and limitations. Essential information that needs to be transferred from the BIM model is clarified and prioritised.