Citation: Mameri, F.; Delacourt, E.;
Morin, C.; Schiffler, J. 0D Dynamic
Modeling and Experimental
Characterization of a Biomass Boiler
with Mass and Energy Balance.
Entropy 2022, 24, 202. https://
doi.org/10.3390/e24020202
Academic Editor: T M Indra Mahlia
Received: 30 November 2021
Accepted: 28 December 2021
Published: 28 January 2022
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Article
0D Dynamic Modeling and Experimental Characterization of a
Biomass Boiler with Mass and Energy Balance
Fateh Mameri
1
, Eric Delacourt
1,2
, Céline Morin
1,2,
* and Jesse Schiffler
3
1
CNRS, UMR 8201–LAMIH, University Polytechnique Hauts-de-France, 59313 Valenciennes, France;
fatehmameri@hotmail.fr (F.M.); Eric.Delacourt@uphf.fr (E.D.)
2
INSA Hauts-de-France, 59313 Valenciennes, France
3
CNRS, UMR 7357–ICube, University Strasbourg, 67412 Illkirch, France; schiffler@unistra.fr
* Correspondence: Celine.Morin@uphf.fr
Abstract:
The paper presents an experimental study and a 0D dynamic modeling of a biomass
boiler based on the Bond Graph formalism from mass and energy balance. The biomass boiler
investigated in this study is an automatic pellet boiler with a nominal power of 30 kW with a
fixed bed
. The balances allow to model as time function the flue gas enthalpy flux variation and the
thermal transfers between the flue gas and the walls of the boiler subsystems. The main objective is
to build a model to represent the dynamic thermal behavior of the boiler. Indeed, small domestic
boilers have discontinuous operating phases when the set temperature is reached. The global thermal
transfer coefficients for the boiler subsystems are obtained according to an iterative calculation by
inverse method. The boiler has an average efficiency of 67.5% under our operating conditions and the
radiation is the dominant thermal transfer by reaching 97.6% of the total thermal transfers inside the
combustion chamber. The understanding of the dynamic behavior of the boiler during the operating
phases allows to evaluate its energy performances. The proposed model is both stimulated and
validated using experimental results carried out on the boiler.
Keywords:
energy balance; biomass boiler; heat exchanger; 0D modeling; Bond Graph; global
thermal transfers; inverse method
1. Introduction
Biomass plays a significant role in the development of clean and sustainable heat
production processes with a large reduction of CO
2
emissions [
1
]. There are multiple
ways to exploit energy potential of biomass, e.g., by pyrolysis [
2
], gasification or other
bio-chemical processes using bacteria to generate gaseous and liquid biofuels or by direct
combustion to generate heat and electricity [
3
–
5
]. Even if biomass has a lower calorific
value than other fuels, such as fossil fuels, this source of energy remains cleaner with
some reserves [
6
]. The biomass can be valued for the simultaneous production of heat and
electricity from CHP (Combined Heat and Power) plants [7,8].
In the thermal conversion of biomass, there are multiple physical and chemical pro-
cesses that have an influence on the performances of industrial and domestic applications,
such as furnaces, industrial burners and biomass boilers [
9
], the exergy analysis must
be used in order to find the best way to recover the maximum of mechanical work in a
CHP (combined heat and power) unit. Biomass boilers provide a direct conversion of
biomass into energy by combustion. They are widely investigated in several configurations
according to delivered power: biomass domestic boiler of 24 kW, 27 kW and 32 kW [
10
–
12
],
industrial biomass boiler of 4 MW [13].
Dynamic modeling of energy systems can be used for the design, the optimization or
the control of the studied process. Tognoli and Najafi [
14
] provided a detailed dynamic
model of an industrial fire-tube boiler with five different geometrical configurations. The
dynamic model developed consists of two main sections separated on the flue gas side and
Entropy 2022, 24, 202. https://doi.org/10.3390/e24020202 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/entropy
