Performance investigation of a novel expander coupling organic Rankine cycle: Variable expansion ratio rotary vane expander for variable working conditions

Yan, Jiayao; Han, Yi; Tian, Jing; Xu, Yun; Zhang, Yiming; Chen, Ruolong

doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2019.02.103

Cited by 19 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The interesting results of the numerical and analytical modeling of multi-vane expanders operation in ORCs were presented in [89,90] In [89], the authors presented a modeling of a multi-vane expander featuring an elliptical cross-section of a cylinder designed for application in small-scale ORC systems, which took place at Politecnico di Milano (Italy) in cooperation with the Magna Powertain Company (Austria). Modeling was carried out using OpenFOAM software.…”

Section: University Of Nottingham (England)mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Application of the Multi-Vane Expanders in ORC Systems—A Review on the Experimental and Modeling Research Activities

Kolasiński

2019

Energies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This paper reviews the applications of the multi-vane expanders in ORC (organic Rankine cycle) systems. The operating principle and design of the ORC systems are addressed in the introduction. Then, there is a brief review of the expanders applied in small-power and micro-power ORCs, and a discussion of the multi-vane expander design and operating principle as an introduction to a comprehensive review on the applications of the multi-vane expanders in ORC systems. The different features of the multi-vane expanders—i.e., the design of the expander, its geometrical dimensions and operating conditions, durability, applied working fluid, obtained power output, and efficiency—are analyzed in this paper. This review clearly indicates that multi-vane expanders are a promising alternative to the different types of the expanders applied in ORC systems.

show abstract

Section: University Of Nottingham (England)mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In [90], the design and modeling results on the novel multi-vane expander with a variable expansion ratio were presented. The research was conducted at Jilin University (China).…”

Section: Jilin University (China)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Application of the Multi-Vane Expanders in ORC Systems—A Review on the Experimental and Modeling Research Activities

Kolasiński

2019

Energies

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Investigations on ORC technology for converting recovered waste-heat from ICEs have been conducted both computationally and experimentally [9,10], including on configuration design [11][12][13] and system optimization [14][15][16], working fluid selection by traditional pre-selection (including pure fluids [17,18] and mixtures [19,20]) and by new computer-aided molecular design methods [21][22][23] integrated into cycle optimization [24,25], expander selection and design [26,27] (including piston [28][29][30], screw [31][32][33] and rotary-vane [34] expanders), and off-design performance [35,36]. These excellent studies have enabled significant progress with the performance of ORC technology towards through careful considerations of the working fluid, key components and system parameters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic Rankine cycle systems for engine waste-heat recovery: Heat exchanger design in space-constrained applications

Song

et al. 2019

Energy Conversion and Management

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems are a promising solution for improving internal combustion engine efficiencies, however, conflicts between the pressure drops in the heat exchangers, overall thermodynamic performance and economic viability are acute in this space-constrained application. This paper focuses on the interaction of the heat exchanger pressure drop (HEPD) and the thermo-economic performance of ORC systems in engine waste-heat recovery applications. An iterative procedure is included in the thermo-economic analysis of such systems that quantifies the HEPD in each case, and uses this information to revise the cycle and to resize the components until convergence. The newly proposed approach is compared with conventional methods in which the heat exchangers are sized after thermodynamic cycle modelling and the pressure drops through them are ignored, in order to understand and quantify the effects of the HEPD on ORC system design and working fluid selection. Results demonstrate that neglecting the HEPD leads to significant overestimations of both the thermodynamic and the economic performance of ORC systems, which for some indicators can be as high as >80% in some cases, and that this can be effectively avoided with the improved approach that accounts for the HEPD. In such space-limited applications, the heat exchangers can be designed with a smaller cross-section in order to achieve a better compromise between packaging volume, heat transfer and ORC net power output. Furthermore, we identify differences in working fluid selection that arise from the fact that different working fluids give rise to different levels of HEPD. The optimized thermo-economic approach proposed here improves the accuracy and reliability of conventional early-stage engineering design and assessments, which can be extended to other similar thermal systems (i.e., CO2 cycle, Brayton cycle, etc.) that involve heat exchangers integration in similar applications.

show abstract

“…A further limiting aspect of this machine is the fixed built-in volume ratio, due to the geometrical feature of the machine where the suction and discharge ports are machined on the stator. This limitation was overcome in [12] through an actuator that varied the outlet opening angle of the discharge port.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Numerical CFD Simulations and Indicated Pressure Measurements on a Sliding Vane Expander for Heat to Power Conversion Applications

Bianchi

Rane

Fatigati

et al. 2019

Designs

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The paper presents an extensive investigation of a small-scale sliding vane rotary expander operating with R245fa. The key novelty is in an innovative operating layout, which considers a secondary inlet downstream of the conventional inlet port. The additional intake supercharges the expander by increasing the mass of the working fluid in the working chamber during the expansion process; this makes it possible to harvest a greater power output within the same machine. The concept of supercharging is assessed in this paper through numerical computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations which are validated against experimental data, including the mass flow rate and indicated pressure measurements. When operating at 1516 rpm and between pressures of 5.4 bar at the inlet and 3.2 bar at the outlet, the supercharged expander provided a power output of 325 W. The specific power output was equal to 3.25 kW/(kg/s) with a mechanical efficiency of 63.1%. The comparison between internal pressure traces obtained by simulation and experimentally is very good. However, the numerical model is not able to account fully for the overfilling of the machine. A comparison between a standard and a supercharged configuration obtained by CFD simulation shows that the specific indicated power increases from 3.41 kW/(kg/s) to 8.30 kW/(kg/s). This large power difference is the result of preventing overexpansion by supercharging. Hence, despite the greater pumping power required for the increased flow through the secondary inlet, a supercharged expander would be the preferred option for applications where the weight of the components is the key issue, for example, in transport applications.

show abstract

Performance investigation of a novel expander coupling organic Rankine cycle: Variable expansion ratio rotary vane expander for variable working conditions

Cited by 19 publications

References 31 publications

Application of the Multi-Vane Expanders in ORC Systems—A Review on the Experimental and Modeling Research Activities

Application of the Multi-Vane Expanders in ORC Systems—A Review on the Experimental and Modeling Research Activities

Organic Rankine cycle systems for engine waste-heat recovery: Heat exchanger design in space-constrained applications

Numerical CFD Simulations and Indicated Pressure Measurements on a Sliding Vane Expander for Heat to Power Conversion Applications

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About