Similarity Theory Based Radial Turbine Performance and Loss Mechanism Comparison between R245fa and Air for Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Organic Rankine Cycles

Organic Rankine Cycles using radial turbines as expanders are considered as one of the most efficient technologies to convert heavy-duty diesel engine waste heat into useful work. Turbine similarity design based on the existing air turbine profiles is time saving. Due to totally different thermodynamic properties between organic fluids and air, its influence on turbine performance and loss mechanisms need to be analyzed. This paper numerically simulated a radial turbine under similar conditions between R245fa and air, and compared the differences of the turbine performance and loss mechanisms. Larger specific heat ratio of air leads to air turbine operating at higher pressure ratios. As R245fa gas constant is only about one-fifth of air gas constant, reduced rotating speeds of R245fa turbine are only 0.4-fold of those of air turbine, and reduced mass flow rates are about twice of those of air turbine. When using R245fa as working fluid, the nozzle shock wave losses decrease but rotor suction surface separation vortex losses increase, and eventually leads that isentropic efficiencies of R245fa turbine in the commonly used velocity ratio range from 0.5 to 0.9 are 3%–4% lower than those of air turbine

Similarity Theory Based Radial Turbine Performance and Loss Mechanism Comparison between R245fa and Air for Heavy-Duty Diesel Engine Organic Rankine Cycles

Organic Rankine Cycles using radial turbines as expanders are considered as one of the most efficient technologies to convert heavy-duty diesel engine waste heat into useful work. Turbine similarity design based on the existing air turbine profiles is time saving. Due to totally different thermodynamic properties between organic fluids and air, its influence on turbine performance and loss mechanisms need to be analyzed. This paper numerically simulated a radial turbine under similar conditions between R245fa and air, and compared the differences of the turbine performance and loss mechanisms. Larger specific heat ratio of air leads to air turbine operating at higher pressure ratios. As R245fa gas constant is only about one-fifth of air gas constant, reduced rotating speeds of R245fa turbine are only 0.4-fold of those of air turbine, and reduced mass flow rates are about twice of those of air turbine. When using R245fa as working fluid, the nozzle shock wave losses decrease but rotor suction surface separation vortex losses increase, and eventually leads that isentropic efficiencies of R245fa turbine in the commonly used velocity ratio range from 0.5 to 0.9 are 3%–4% lower than those of air turbine

Radial turbine expander design, modelling and testing for automotive organic Rankine cycle waste heat recovery

This thesis was submitted for the award of Doctor of Philosophy and was awarded by Brunel University LondonSince the late 19th century, the average temperature on Earth has risen by approximately 1.1 °Cbecause of the increased carbon dioxide (CO2) and other man-made emissions to the atmosphere. The transportation sector is responsible for approximately 33% of the global CO2 emissions and 14% of the overall greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, increasingly stringent regulations in the European Union require CO2 emissions to be lower than 95 2/ by 2020. In this regard, improvements in internal combustion engines (ICEs)must be achieved in terms of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Given that only up to 35% of fuel energy is converted into mechanical power, the wasted energy can be reused through waste heat recovery (WHR) technologies. Consequently, organic Rankine cycle (ORC) has received significant attention as a WHR technology because of its ability to recover wasted heat in low- to medium-heat sources. The Expansion machine is the key component in ORC systems, and its performance has a direct and significant impact on overall cycle efficiency. However, the thermal efficiencies of ORC systems are typically low due to low working temperatures. Moreover, supersonic conditions at the high pressure ratios are usually encountered in the expander due to the thermal properties of the working fluids selected which are different to water.Therefore, this thesis aims to design an efficient radial-inflow turbine to avoid further efficiency reductions in the overall system. To fulfil this aim, a novel design and optimisation methodology was developed. A design of experiments technique was incorporated in the methodology toexplorethe effects of input parameters on turbine performance and overall size. Importantly, performance prediction modelling by means of 1D mean-line modelling was employed in the proposed methodology to examine the performance of ORC turbines at constant geometries. The proposed methodology was validated by three methods: computational fluid dynamics analysis, experimental work available in the literature, and experimental work in the current project.Owing to the lack of actual experimental works in ORC-ICE applications, a test rig was built around a heavy-duty diesel engine at Brunel University London and tested at partial load conditions due to the requirement for a realistic off-high representation of the performance of the system rather than its best (design) point, while taking into account the limitation of the engine dynamometer employed. Results of the design methodology developed for this projectpresented an efficient single-stage high-pressure ratio radial-inflow turbine with a total to static efficiency of 74.4% and an output power of 13.6 kW.Experimental results showed that the ORC system had a thermal efficiency of 4.3%, and the brake-specific fuel consumption of the engine was reduced by 3%. The novel meanlineoff designcode (MOC) was validated with the experimental works from three turbines. In comparison with the experimental results conducted at Brunel University London, the predicted and measured results were in good agreement with a maximum deviation of 2.8%.Innovate U