The role of the saver in a HPLCs heat transfer process: A transient analysis

This work describes the experimental validation of a mathematical model implemented in Matlab/Simulink®, which is used to investigate energy consumption in the production process of high-pressure laminate composites (HPLCs). First, experimental onsite temperature measurements are used to determine parameters for the core component, i.e. the package, consisting of several layers of different materials. These otherwise hard to assess quantities are the generated power due to exothermal reactions in the cross-linking phase, and the piecewise approximation for the variable heat capacity of the impregnated paper over the heating phase of the process. The capability of the whole model (including the hot and cold water storage tanks) to replicate the behaviour of the actual production process has been verified. The validated model has been employed to investigate the influence of a saver tank for the spent hot water to be employed in the early stage of the heating phase of the process, with the load and discharge phases lasting three or five minutes each. Computations demonstrate that significant savings in energy (up to 34) can be obtained.