Hybrid Electric Vehicle Performance with Organic Rankine Cycle Waste Heat Recovery System

Abstract

This study examines the implementation of a waste heat recovery system on an electric hybrid vehicle. The selected waste heat recovery method operates on organic Rankine cycle principles to target the overall fuel consumption improvement of the internal combustion engine element of a hybrid powertrain. This study examines the operational principle of hybrid electric vehicles, in which the internal combustion engines operates with an electric powertrain layout (electric motors/generators and batteries) as an integral part of the powertrain architecture. A critical evaluation of the performance of the integrated powertrain is presented in this paper whereby vehicle performance is presented through three different driving cycle tests, offering a clear assessment of how this advanced powertrain configuration would benefit under several different, but relevant, driving scenarios. The driving cycles tested highlighted areas where the driver could exploit the full potential of the hybrid powertrain operational modes in order to further reduce fuel consumption.

Why the Development of Internal Combustion Engines Is Still Necessary to Fight against Global Climate Change from the Perspective of Transportation

“…A revolution is approaching with respect to traditional gasoline and diesel engines making the boundaries between them disappear as deeper knowledge and greater control of the combustion process is acquired [34]. Advanced injection systems [35,36], turbochargers [37,38], organic Rankine cycles (ORC) [39], hybridization [40,41], multifuel solutions [42][43][44], or advanced combustion concepts are becoming a part of the ICE context. All these strategies are dedicated to extract every Joule of energy from the fuel.…”

An Improved Analysis Method for Organic Rankine Cycles Based on Radial-Inflow Turbine Efficiency Prediction

“…Considerable studies have been conducted regarding the recovery of low-grade heat energy. Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) has exhibited high potential in terms of the utilization of low-grade heat energy conversion to electricity [5,6].…”

A Comparative Study of the Effect of Turbocompounding and ORC Waste Heat Recovery Systems on the Performance of a Turbocharged Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine

“…As far as the safety and environmental aspects are concerned, the toxicity and flammability of the fluid concern the engineers, while the global warming potential and ozone depletion danger are the major dangers for the environment. The working fluids should compromise among several criteria specified below [23,42,43] Considering all of aforementioned requirements, R245fa was selected as the working fluid in this study considering entirely prior experience and potential for widespread use. This organic fluid has no ozone impact, low global warming impact, it is non-flammable and its thermodynamic properties fulfill the above criteria.…”

“…After the selection of the working fluid, the final model was created. In GT-Power software some assumptions were considered and are shown below [23,44]:…”

“…Theoretically, the ORC systems can offer several benefits to the whole powertrain configuration; in the best way power output of the powertrain can be increased around 15% depending on each engine scenario. As a consequence of the increased efficiency of the engine, the fuel consumption can be decreased by the respective percentage, making the ORC systems desirable for various applications [23,24].…”