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Automotive waste heat recovery: Working fluid selection and related boundary conditions

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Abstract

This paper presents the rational for the selection of fluids for use in a model based study of sub and supercritical Waste Heat Recovery (WHR) Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). The study focuses on multiple vehicle heat sources and the potential of WHR ORC’s for its conversion into useful work. The work presented on fluid selection is generally applicable to any waste heat recovery system, either stationary or mobile and, with careful consideration, is also applicable to single heat sources. The fluid selection process presented reduces the number of potential fluids from over one hundred to a group of under twenty fluids for further refinement in a model based WHR ORC performance study. The selection process uses engineering judgement, legislation and, where applicable, health and safety as fluid selection or de-selection criteria. This paper also investigates and discusses the properties of specific ORC fluids with regard to their impact on the theoretical potential for delivering efficient WHR ORC work output. The paper concludes by looking at potential temperature and pressure WHR ORC limits with regard to fluid properties thereby assisting with the generation of WHR ORC simulation boundary conditions.

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Abbreviations

Bar:

pressure in bar (absolute)

CFC:

chlorofluorocarbon

Expansion ratio:

ratio of fluid density at the inlet to the exit of the expander

GWP:

global warming potential

Heat Ratio:

available exhaust heat /available coolant heat

HCFC:

hydrochlorofluorocarbon

HFO:

hydrofluoroolefin

IC:

internal combustion

NIST:

national Institute of standards

ODP:

ozone depletion potential

ORC:

organic rankine cycle

ORC cycle eff.:

net work out / heat in. Where “heat in” is actual “paid for” heat into the ORC unless otherwise stipulated in the text.

PFC:

perfluorocarbon

Subcritical:

cycle operating at pressures below the fluid’s critical pressure

Supercritical:

cycle operating at pressures above the fluid’s critical pressure

WHR:

waste heat recovery

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Queens University Belfast, London, BT9 5AH, UK

    S. Glover, R. Douglas, L. Glover, G. McCullough & S. McKenna

Authors
  1. S. Glover
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  2. R. Douglas
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  3. L. Glover
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  4. G. McCullough
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  5. S. McKenna
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Correspondence to S. Glover.

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Glover, S., Douglas, R., Glover, L. et al. Automotive waste heat recovery: Working fluid selection and related boundary conditions. Int.J Automot. Technol. 16, 399–409 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-015-0041-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12239-015-0041-2

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