Analysis of a variable speed vapor compression system using artificial neural networks

An artificial neural network (ANN) is a mathematical model that is inspired by the operation of biological neural networks. However, this is typically considered a computational model. An ANN can easily adapt to multiple situations and extract information that is apparently hidden in a system. An ANN can be used in three basic configurations: mapping, auto-association and classification. An ANN in a mapping configuration can be used to model a two port system with inputs and outputs. Therefore, a vapor compression system can be modeled using an ANN in a mapping configuration. That is, some parameters from the compression system can be used for input while other parameters can be used as output. The simulation experiments include the design, training and validation of a set of ANNs to find the best architecture while minimizing over-fitting. This paper presents a new method to model a variable speed vapor compression system. This method accurately estimates the number of neurons in the hidden layer of an ANN. The analysis and the experimental results provide new insights to understand the dependency between the input and output parameters in a vapor compression system, concluding that the model can predict the energetic performance of a variable speed vapor compression system. Additionally, the simulation results indicate that an ANN can extract, from the data sets, information that is implicit in the configuration of the vapor compression system. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.