Control Strategy for a High-Efficiency Refrigeration Plant Based on Dymola Simulation: A Case Study of a Xiamen Airlines Support Facility

Abstract

The operational control strategy of a refrigeration plant directly impacts its annual energy efficiency. Conventional control logic, based on static design conditions or time-scheduled fixed parameters, cannot effectively adapt to continuous fluctuations in cooling load and meteorological conditions. This paper employs a model-based Dymola environment to develop a fullsystem model of a high-efficiency refrigeration plant and proposes a dynamic control strategy driven by hourly cooling load and outdoor meteorological parameters. Based on the hourly cooling load profile of a public building in a hot-summer warm-winter climate zone, the proposed strategy is simulated and compared against a conventional baseline. The results indicate that the proposed strategy achieves an energy efficiency ratio (EER) of 6.02 over the cooling season, representing a 19.4% improvement compared to the baseline strategy. The proposed methodology offers a practical reference for control strategy optimization in chiller plants of large public facilities with fluctuating cooling loads, such as airports and shopping malls.