2009 IEEE International Conference on
Systems, Man, and Cybernetics |
![]() |
Abstract
The paper presents quantitative RAM-based
economic models capable of sup-plying early and realistic
information on the envisaged lifespan economic perfor-mance of
energy infrastructure systems during their conceptual designs.
Unlike the conventional cost models which do not take these
RAM characteristics into account, the models in this paper
provide an early trade-off between the RAM attributes the
designer wants to incorporate in the system and the cost of
having them. The economic models thus provide the designer
the ultimate leeway of selecting more intrinsically reliable and
more inherently maintainable components or subsystem of the
infrastructure system at a more affordable investment costs.
The paper focusses on a user friendly formulation for
incorporating the social costs, which are typical for
infrastructures that operate in the public domain, in the cost
structure of infrastructure systems. To demonstrate the
implementation and utility of these economic models, it has been
applied to a District Heating Network (DHN) case study.