Abstract
The design, construction and test of an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) with R123 as the working fluid were performed. A scroll expander was integrated in the system. The conductive oil with its temperature of 150 °C was used to simulate the low-grade heat source. An AC dynamometer unit measured the expander shaft torque, rotating speed and shaft power. The experiments were conducted in two operating modes: the constant mass flow rate and the constant shaft torque. Under the constant mass flow rate operating mode, the stepped increase of the shaft torque increased the expansion ratios of the expander and decreased the vapor superheats at the expander inlet. Thus, the shaft power and thermal efficiency were increased. Alternatively, the constant shaft torque operating mode involved two different regions, interfaced at the pumping frequency of 9 Hz. By the increase of the mass flow rates, the vapor superheats at the expander inlet was decreased and the shaft power was increased, but the ORC thermal efficiencies were slightly decreased. Both operating modes yielded the saturation shaft powers that were the maximum values one could use. It was found that the measured shaft powers and ORC thermal efficiencies were lower than the enthalpy determined values based on the fluid pressures and temperatures at the expander inlet and outlet. The maximum measured shaft power and thermal efficiency were 2.63 kW and 5.31 %, compared with the enthalpy determined values of 3.87 kW and 9.46 %, respectively.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Hung TC, Shai TY, Wang SK (1997) A review of Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs) for the recovery of low grade waste heat. Energy 22:661–667
Chen Q, Xu J, Chen H (2012) A new design method for Organic Rankine Cycles with constraint of inlet and outlet heat carrier fluid temperatures coupling with the heat source. Appl Energy 98:562–573
Xu J, Liu C (2013) Effect of the critical temperature of organic fluids on supercritical pressure Organic Rankine Cycles. Energy 63:109–122
Andersen WC, Bruno TJ (2005) Rapid screening of fluids for chemical stability in Organic Rankine Cycle applications. Ind Eng Chem Res 44:5560–5566
Liu BT, Chien KH, Wang CC (2004) Effect of working fluids on Organic Rankine Cycle for waste heat recovery. Energy 29:1207–1217
Saleh B, Koglbauer G, Wendland M et al (2007) Working fluids for low-temperature Organic Rankine Cycles. Energy 32:1210–1221
Tchanche BF, Papadakis G, Lambrinos G et al (2009) Fluid selection for a low-temperature solar Organic Rankine Cycle. Appl Therm Eng 29:2468–2476
Tung TC, Wang SK, Kuo CH et al (2010) A study of organic working fluids on system efficiency of an ORC using low-grade energy sources. Energy 35:1403–1411
Lai NA, Wendland M, Fischer J (2011) Working fluids for high-temperature Organic Rankine Cycles. Energy 36:199–211
Hung TC (2001) Waste heat recovery of Organic Rankine Cycle using dry fluids. Energy Convers Manage 42:539–553
Mago PJ, Chamra LM, Somayaji C (2007) Performance analysis of different working fluids for use in Organic Rankine Cycles. Proc Inst Mech Eng Part A- J Power Energy 221:255–264
Chen H, Goswami DY, Stefanakos EK (2010) A review of thermodynamic cycles and working fluids for the conversion of low-grade heat. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 14:3059–3067
Yamamoto T, Furuhata T, Arai N et al (2001) Design and testing of the Organic Rankine Cycle. Energy 26:239–251
Mathias JA, Jon R, Johnston J et al (2009) Experimental testing of gerotor and scroll expander used in, and energetic and exergetic modeling of, an Organic Rankine Cycle. J Energy Resour ASME 131:012201
Lemort V, Quoilin S, Cuevas C et al (2009) Testing and modeling a scroll expander integrated into an Organic Rankine Cycle. Appl Therm Eng 29:3094–3102
Quoilin S, Lemort V, Lebrun J (2010) Experimental study and modeling of an Organic Rankine Cycle using scroll expander. Appl Energy 87:1260–1268
Declaye S, Quoilin S, Guillaume L et al (2013) Experimental study on an open-drive scroll expander integrated into an ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) system with R245fa as working fluid. Energy 55:173–183
Pei G, Li J, Li Y et al (2011) Construction and dynamic test of a small-scale Organic Rankine Cycle. Energy 36:3215–3223
Li J, Pei G, Li Y et al (2012) Energetic and exergetic investigation of an Organic Rankine Cycle at different heat source temperatures. Energy 38:85–95
Li J, Pei G, Li Y et al (2013) Examination of the expander leaving loss in variable Organic Rankine Cycle operation. Energy Convers Manage 65:66–74
Bracco R, Clemente S, Micheli D et al (2013) Experimental tests and modelization of a domestic-scale ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle). Energy 58:107–116
Li MQ, Wang JF, He WF et al (2013) Construction and preliminary test of a low-temperature regenerative Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) using R123. Renew Energy 57:216–222
Manolakos D, Papadakis G, Kyritsis S et al (2007) Experimental evaluation of an autonomous low-temperature solar Rankine cycle system for reverse osmosis desalination. Desalination 203:366–374
Manolakos D, Kosmadakis G, Kyritsis S et al (2009) Identification of behaviour and evaluation of performance of small scale low-temperature Organic Rankine Cycle system coupled with a RO desalination unit. Energy 34:767–774
Manolakos D, Kosmadakis G, Kyritsis S et al (2009) On site experimental evaluation of a low-temperature solar organic Rankine cycle system for RO desalination. Sol Energy 83:646–656
Wang JL, Zhao L, Wang XD (2010) A comparative study of pure and zeotropic mixtures in low-temperature solar Rankine cycle. Appl Energy 87:3366–3373
Wang XD, Zhao L, Wang JL et al (2010) Performance evaluation of a low-temperature solar Rankine cycle system utilizing R245fa. Sol Energy 84:353–364
Wang XD, Zhao L, Wang JL (2011) Experimental investigation on the low-temperature solar Rankine cycle system using R245fa. Energy Convers Manage 52:946–952
Wang JL, Zhao L, Wang XD (2012) An experimental study on the recuperative low temperature solar Rankine cycle using R245fa. Appl Energy 94:34–40
Zheng N, Zhao L, Wang XD et al (2013) Experimental verification of a rolling-piston expander that applied for low-temperature Organic Rankine Cycle. Appl Energy 112:1265–1274
Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2011CB710703) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (51306048, 51210011).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
SPECIAL TOPIC: Deep Utilization of Boiler Low-Temperature Flue Gas
About this article
Cite this article
Miao, Z., Yang, X., Xu, J. et al. Development and dynamic characteristics of an Organic Rankine Cycle. Chin. Sci. Bull. 59, 4367–4378 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0567-0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0567-0