The Role of Dense Gas Dynamics on Organic Rankine Cycle Turbine Performance

Author(s):  
Andrew P. S. Wheeler ◽  
Jonathan Ong

In this paper, we investigate the real gas flows which occur within organic Rankine cycle (ORC) turbines. A new method for the design of nozzles operating with dense gases is discussed, and applied to the case of a high pressure ratio turbine vane. A Navier–Stokes method, which uses equations of states for a variety of working fluids typical of ORC turbines, is then applied to the turbine vanes to determine the vane performance. The results suggest that the choice of working fluid has a significant influence on the turbine efficiency.

Author(s):  
Andrew P. S. Wheeler ◽  
Jonathan Ong

In this paper we investigate the real gas flows which occur within Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turbines. A new method for the design of nozzles operating with dense gases is discussed, and applied to the case of a high pressure ratio turbine vane. A Navier-Stokes method which uses equations of states for a variety of working fluids typical of ORC turbines is then applied to the turbine vanes to determine the vane performance. The results suggest that the choice of working fluid has a significant influence on the turbine efficiency.


Author(s):  
Vamshi Krishna Avadhanula ◽  
Chuen-Sen Lin

The screw expander discussed in this work was part of a 50 kW organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system. The ORC was tested under different conditions in heat source and heat sink. In conjunction with collecting data for the ORC system, experimental data were also collected for the individual components of the ORC, viz. evaporator, preheater, screw expander, working fluid pump, and condenser. Experimental data for the screw expander were used to develop the two empirical models discussed in this paper for estimating screw expander performance. As the physical parameters of the screw expander discussed in this article are not known, a “black-box” approach was followed to estimate screw expander power output, based on expander inlet and outlet pressure and temperature data. Refrigerant R245fa was used as the working fluid in the ORC. The experimental data showed that the screw expander had ranges of pressure ratio (2.70 to 6.54), volume ratio (2.54 to 6.20), and power output (10 to 51.5 kW). Of the two empirical models, the first model is based on the polytropic expansion process, in which an expression for the polytropic exponent is found by applying regression curve-fitting analysis as a function of the expander pressure ratio and volume ratio. In the second model, an expression for screw expander work output is found by applying regression curve-fitting analysis as a function of the expander isentropic work output. The predicted screw expander power output using the polytropic exponent model was within ±10% of experimental values; the predicted screw expander power output using the isentropic work output model was within ±7.5% of experimental values.


Author(s):  
Mauro Reini

In recent years, a big effort has been made to improve microturbines thermal efficiency, in order to approach 40%. Two main options may be considered: i) a wide usage of advanced materials for hot ends components, like impeller and recuperator; ii) implementing more complicated thermodynamic cycle, like combined cycle. In the frame of the second option, the paper deals with the hypothesis of bottoming a low pressure ratio, recuperated gas cycle, typically realized in actual microturbines, with an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). The object is to evaluate the expected nominal performance parameters of the integrated-combined cycle cogeneration system, taking account of different options for working fluid, vapor pressure and component’s performance parameters. Both options of recuperated and not recuperated bottom cycles are discussed, in relation with ORC working fluid nature and possible stack temperature for microturbine exhaust gases. Finally, some preliminary consideration about the arrangement of the combined cycle unit, and the effects of possible future progress of gas cycle microturbines are presented.


Author(s):  
Andrew P. S. Wheeler ◽  
Jonathan Ong

In this paper we investigate the three-dimensional unsteady real-gas flows which occur within Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) turbines. A radial-inflow turbine stage operating with supersonic vane exit flows (M ≈ 1.4) is simulated using a RANS solver which includes real-gas effects. Steady CFD simulations show that small changes in the inducer shape can have a significant effect on turbine efficiency due to the development of supersonic flows in the rotor. Unsteady predictions show the same trends as the steady CFD, however a strong interaction between the vane trailing-edge shocks and rotor leading-edge leads to a significant drop in efficiency.


Author(s):  
Murat Erbas ◽  
Mehmet Alper Sofuoglu ◽  
Atilla Biyikoglu ◽  
Ibrahim Uslan

In this study, low temperature Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems with single and two-stage turbine are proposed for the production of electricity. The refrigerant R-134a is selected as working fluid based on peak temperature of the cycle for solar and geothermal applications. The design criteria of ORC system is introduced and explained in detail. The radial inflow turbine is selected to satisfy the design requirements. The cycle performance is taken as a key point in the design criteria. The system performance map is constructed based on both velocity triangles and approximate efficiency of turbine. The procedures for turbine and cycle design are introduced in detail. The components of cycle and turbine are modeled using baseline correlations via real gas tables and macros created on Excel for the refrigerant, R134a. Finally, the turbine geometry is optimized to attain maximum turbine efficiency via MATLAB optimization toolbox.


Author(s):  
L. Sciacovelli ◽  
P. Cinnella

Transonic flows through axial, multistage, transcritical organic rankine cycle (ORC) turbines are investigated by using a numerical solver including advanced multiparameter equations of state and a high-order discretization scheme. The working fluids in use are the refrigerants R134a and R245fa, classified as dense gases due to their complex molecules and relatively high molecular weight. Both inviscid and viscous numerical simulations are carried out to quantify the impact of dense gas effects and viscous effects on turbine performance. Both supercritical and subcritical inlet conditions are studied for the considered working fluids. In the former case, flow across the turbine is transcritical, since turbine output pressure is subcritical. Numerical results show that, due to dense gas effects characterizing the flow at supercritical inlet conditions, supercritical ORC turbines enable, for a given pressure ratio, a higher isentropic efficiency than subcritical turbines using the same working fluid. Moreover, for the selected operating conditions, R134a provides a better performance than R245fa.


Author(s):  
Jian Song ◽  
Chun-wei Gu

Energy shortage and environmental deterioration are two crucial issues that the developing world must face. As a promising solution, the conversion of low grade energies is attracting more and more attention. Among all of the existing technologies, Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) has been proven to be an effective method to utilize the low grade energies. Thermodynamic analysis is important for working fluid selection and system parameter determination in the ORC system. In conventional studies, the efficiency of the organic turbine is fixed at a constant value. However, the turbine efficiency is evidently related to the working fluid property and system operating condition. Thus, the constant turbine efficiency is unreasonable and may lead to sub-optimal thermal results. To enhance the reliability and accuracy of ORC system analysis, the one-dimensional analysis model is used to predict the turbine performance in this paper. The calculated one-dimensional turbine efficiency replaces the constant efficiency in the system analysis. The influence of the working fluid property and system operating condition on the turbine performance is evaluated. Thermal performances of the ORC systems with the one-dimensional turbine efficiency and the constant turbine efficiency are simulated and compared. The results reveal that the turbine efficiency plays a significant role in working fluid selection and system parameter determination for the ORC system.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (17) ◽  
pp. 5277
Author(s):  
Ningjian Peng ◽  
Enhua Wang ◽  
Hongguang Zhang

A small-scale organic Rankine cycle (ORC) with kW-class power output has a wide application prospect in industrial low-grade energy utilization. Increasing the expansion pressure ratio of small-scale ORC is an effective approach to improve the energy efficiency. However, there is a lack of suitable expander for small-scale ORC that can operate with a high efficiency under the condition of large expansion pressure ratio and small mass flow rate. Aiming at the design of high-efficiency axial-flow turbine in small ORC system, this paper investigates the performance of a kW-class axial-flow turbine and proposes a method for efficiency improvement. First, the preliminary design of an axial-flow turbine is conducted to optimize the geometric parameters and aerodynamic parameters. Then, the effects of tip clearance and trailing edge thickness on turbine performance are analyzed under design and off-design conditions. The results show that the efficiency of the two-stage or three-stage turbine is evidently better than that of the single-stage one. The output power and efficiency of the three-stage turbine are close to that of the two-stage turbine while the speed is lower. Meanwhile, the trailing edge loss and leakage loss can be significantly reduced via reducing the trailing edge thickness and tip clearance, and thus the turbine efficiency can be improved significantly. The estimated efficiency arrives at 0.82, which is 33% higher than that of the conventional turbine. Considering the limitation of turbine speed, three-stage axial-flow turbine is a feasible choice to improve turbine efficiency in a small-scale ORC.


Energies ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 309
Author(s):  
Jung-Bo Sim ◽  
Se-Jin Yook ◽  
Young Won Kim

The organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is a thermodynamic cycle in which electrical power is generated using an organic refrigerant as a working fluid at low temperatures with low-grade enthalpy. We propose a turbine embedded in a generator (TEG), wherein the turbine rotor is embedded inside the generator rotor, thus simplifying turbine generator structure using only one bearing. The absence of tip clearance between the turbine rotor blade and casing wall in the TEG eliminates tip clearance loss, enhancing turbine efficiency. A single-stage axial-flow turbine was designed using mean-line analysis based on physical properties, and we conducted a parametric study of turbine performance, and predicted turbine efficiency and power using the tip clearance loss coefficient. When the tip clearance loss coefficient was applied, turbine isentropic efficiency and power were 0.89 and 20.42 kW, respectively, and ORC thermal efficiency was 4.81%. Conversely, the isentropic efficiency and power of the turbine without the tip clearance loss coefficient were 0.94 and 22.03 kW, respectively, and the thermal efficiency of the ORC was 5.08%. Therefore, applying the proposed TEG to the ORC system simplifies the turbine generator, while improving ORC thermal efficiency. A 3D turbine generator assembly with proposed TEG structure was also proposed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hasan Eren Bekiloğlu ◽  
Hasan Bedir ◽  
Günay Anlaş

Abstract Although there are studies on optimizing organic Rankine cycles (ORCs) through individual components, in this study, for the first time, both evaporator and turbine designs are included in a multiobjective optimization. Twenty-eight working fluids are used to find optimum cycle parameters for three source temperatures (90, 120, and 150 °C). A mean-line radial inflow turbine model is used. Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm II is utilized to minimize total evaporator area per net power output and maximize performance factor simultaneously. The technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Situation (TOPSIS) procedure is followed to obtain ideal solutions. A group of working fluids with highest net power output is determined for each heat source temperature. Optimized geometric parameters of the evaporator vary in a narrow range independent of the working fluid and the source temperature, but evaporator PPTD and degree of superheating depend on the working fluid. The specific speed, the pressure ratio through the turbine, and the nozzle inlet-to-outlet radius ratio do not change significantly with cycle conditions.


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