LAPSE:2020.0752
Published Article
LAPSE:2020.0752
A Generalised Assessment of Working Fluids and Radial Turbines for Non-Recuperated Subcritical Organic Rankine Cycles
Martin T. White, Abdulnaser I. Sayma
June 23, 2020
The aim of this paper is to conduct a generalised assessment of both optimal working fluids and radial turbine designs for small-scale organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems across a range of heat-source temperatures. The former has been achieved by coupling a thermodynamic model of subcritical, non-recperated cycles with the Peng⁻Robinson equation of state, and optimising the working-fluid and cycle parameters for heat-source temperatures ranging between 80 ° C and 360 ° C . The critical temperature of the working fluid is found to be an important parameter governing working-fluid selection. Moreover, a linear correlation between heat-source temperature and the optimal critical temperature that achieves maximum power output has been found for heat-source temperatures below 300 ° C ( T cr = 0.830 T hi + 41.27 ). This correlation has been validated against cycle calculations completed for nine predefined working fluids using both the Peng⁻Robinson equation of state and using the REFPROP program. Ultimately, this simple correlation can be used to identify working-fluid candidates for a specific heat-source temperature. In the second half of this paper, the effect of the heat-source temperature on the optimal design of a radial-inflow turbine rotor for a 25 kW subcritical ORC system has been studied. As the heat-source temperature increases, the optimal blade-loading coefficient increases, whilst the optimal flow coefficient reduces. Furthermore, passage losses are dominant in turbines intended for low-temperature applications. However, at higher heat-source temperatures, clearance losses become more dominant owing to the reduced blade heights. This information can be used to identify the most direct route to efficiency improvements in these machines. Finally, it is observed that the transition from a conventional converging stator to a converging-diverging stator occurs at heat-source temperatures of approximately 165 ° C , whilst radially-fibered turbines seem unsuitable as the heat-source temperature exceeds 250 ° C ; these conclusions can be used to inform expander design and selection at an early stage.
Keywords
computed-aided molecular design (CAMD), organic Rankine cycle (ORC), radial turbine design, small-scale, working-fluid selection
Suggested Citation
White MT, Sayma AI. A Generalised Assessment of Working Fluids and Radial Turbines for Non-Recuperated Subcritical Organic Rankine Cycles. (2020). LAPSE:2020.0752
Author Affiliations
White MT: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK [ORCID]
Sayma AI: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Aeronautics, School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering, City, University of London, Northampton Square, London EC1V 0HB, UK
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Journal Name
Energies
Volume
11
Issue
4
Article Number
E800
Year
2018
Publication Date
2018-03-30
Published Version
ISSN
1996-1073
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Original Submission
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PII: en11040800, Publication Type: Journal Article
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LAPSE:2020.0752
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doi:10.3390/en11040800
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Jun 23, 2020
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Calvin Tsay
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