TRR154: Mathematical Modelling, Simulation, and Optimization for Gas Networks

Natural gas plays an important role in Germany’s strategy for the transition of energy production to renewable sources and the simultaneous exit from nuclear power, since it is readily available in large amounts and relative clean compared to coal. Large fluctuations in renewable energy production and regulations of the European gas market however pose severe challenges for the transmission system operators.

Control monitors in control center. Image: TRR154

The complexity of the underlying physical processes, i.e., the wide range of length and time scales involved, the variety of network elements, and the uncertainty in model parameters and data, requires expertise in various areas of applied mathematics, e.g. partial differential equations, numerical approximation and simulation, integer and continuous control, or probability and statistics.

In the collaborative research center TRR 154, more than 30 scientists from the Universities of Erlangen-Nuremberg and Duisburg-Essen, from Humboldt University and TU Berlin, and TU Darmstadt investigate the systematic modeling, simulation, and optimization of gas transport networks under uncertainties.

After a very successful first period, funding by the German Science Foundation (DFG) has been granted for another four years, starting from mid 2018. Apart from the incorporation of more detailed physical models, the consideration of gas market aspects will be one focus for the second funding period.

Contact:

Herbert Egger (TU Darmstadt)