LAUSR

Abstract The aim of this paper is the introduction of a methodology for the development of an optimal physical-mathematical model for a cold energy storage system (CESS) from the viewpoint of the required number of chosen variables. Selection of the design, technical and technological parameters of a CESS is a complex process of selection based on a mathematical model using multi-criteria optimization, in which many factors must be taken into account to attain minimum uncertainty. Here, in order to solve this problem a chosen universal metric, called the comparative uncertainty, is calculated according to the amount of information contained in the model. The number of recorded variables is calculated according to this metric. For practical cases, the detailed steps, including the choice of class of the exploring phenomenon, calculating the optimum number of dimensionless criteria, and the value of the achievable comparative uncertainty, are presented. The proposed method is a new method for estimating the optimal model. Examples are also introduced.