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Influence of temperature difference calculation method on the evaluation of Rankine cycle performance

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Abstract

In the new century, energy and environmental problems are becoming more critical, and the development of natural energy is desired. Low-grade Thermal Energy Conversion (LTEC) is refocused as one of the renewable energy methods. The usefulness of LTEC is expected using hot springs and waste heat. In the case of the Rankine cycle using ammonia as the working fluid, the thermal properties of the working fluid changes in the evaporator. The traditional evaluation method of heat exchanger performance is the LMTD (Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference) method. On the other hand, the GMTD (Generalized Mean Temperature Difference) method allows the variation of thermal properties in the heat exchanger. The aim of this study is to compare the two methods for the calculation of temperature differences and the corresponding influence on the total performance of the Rankine cycle that is operated using ammonia as a working fluid. As a result, the thermal efficiency of the Rankine cycle is greater than that of the LMTD method. Moreover, the computable range of the GMTD calculation method is less than that of the LMTD calculation method.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saga University, Saga, Honjo-machi 1, 840-8502, Japan

    Takafumi. Morisaki

  2. Institute of Ocean Energy, Saga University, Saga, Honjo-machi 1, 840-8502, Japan

    Yasuyuki. Ikegami

Authors
  1. Takafumi. Morisaki
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  2. Yasuyuki. Ikegami
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Morisaki, T., Ikegami, Y. Influence of temperature difference calculation method on the evaluation of Rankine cycle performance. J. Therm. Sci. 23, 68–76 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-014-0678-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-014-0678-6

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