Towards a dynamic flow calculation method based on Schur complement for natural gas network

Abstract The energy transfer process of natural gas network (NGN) has remarkable dynamic characteristics. However, the model of the gas network dominated by partial differential equations (PDEs) is challenging to analyse due to its heterogeneous properties, high dimensionality, and significant non‐linearity. To cope with the dynamic characteristics of the NGN effectively and accurately, the Schur complement‐based dynamic flow calculation method for the NGN is proposed in the paper. Firstly, a time‐domain two‐port model for the dynamic characteristics of the NGN is derived based on the finite difference method in the Wendroff format. The PDEs are transformed into an easily solvable time‐domain linear algebraic model while ensuring the accuracy of the computational results. To alleviate the computational burden, a numerical method based on the Schur complement strategy is then developed. By reducing the dimensions of the matrix equation, the computation speed can be dramatically improved. Finally, case analyses are carried out to emphasise the significance of consideration of the dynamic characteristics of NGNs and confirm the validity and precision of the developed approach.