A novel auto-cascade low-temperature solar Rankine cycle system for power generation

A novel auto-cascade low-temperature solar Rankine cycle (ALSRC) system is proposed. Compared to the single stage low-temperature solar Rankine cycle (SSLSRC) system, the ALSRC system is different because it consists of two solar collectors, two expanders, a regenerator, and an internal heat exchanger (IHE). The working fluid for the ALSRC is the zeotropic mixture Isopentane/R245fa. The main advantages of the ALSRC system is that heat from the exhaust stream of the expanders are reclaimed twice, once using an IHE and another time using a regenerator. System parameters such as regeneration, mixture composition, the outlet temperature of the low temperature solar collector, and the inlet temperature of two expanders are investigated to determine their effects on thermal efficiency. Results showed that with a regenerator, the thermal efficiency of the ALSRC system using a mixture of 0.32 R245fa by mass was significantly higher than that of the SSLSRC system. It was determined that regeneration, the mixture composition, and the outlet temperature of the low temperature solar collector are all important factors that affect the system’s thermal efficiency.     

Experimental comparison of R245fa and R245fa/R601a for organic Rankine cycle using scroll expander

An experimental test was conducted to compare R245fa with R245fa/R601a on the organic Rankine cycle performance. The major objective of this paper is to ascertain the highest thermal efficiency and the optimal dimensionless volume ratio using the two working fluids. The experimental system consists of an electrically heated boiler, a vapor generator, a scroll expander, a condenser, a working fluid pump, and so on. For the typical weather conditions of May in Tianjin, the experiment results show that the working fluid charge has an important influence on the organic Rankine cycle performances. The optimal isentropic efficiency of the scroll expander corresponds to the design expansion ratio. Underexpanded and overexpanded processes result in the decline of the isentropic efficiency of the scroll expander, with the former playing a major role. R245fa/R601a improves the heat transfer performance in the vapor generator because of the nonisothermal phase change. The highest thermal efficiency for R245fa and R245fa/R601a is 4.38% and 4.45%, thereby illustrating that R245fa/R601a precedes R245fa. The optimal dimensionless volume ratios for R245fa and R245fa/R601a are 0.38 and 0.41, respectively. The experimental test lays foundation of the 500‐kW geothermal plant for demonstration in the next step. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparative study of pure and zeotropic mixtures in low-temperature solar Rankine cycle

The paper presents an on site experimental study of a low-temperature solar Rankine cycle system for power generation. The cycle performances of pure fluid M₁ (R245fa) and zeotropic mixtures M₂ (R245fa/R152a, 0.9/0.1) and M₃ (R245fa/R152a, 0.7/0.3) are compared, respectively, based on the experimental prototype. The experiments have been conducted under constant volume flow rate of different fluids. The results show that, with the component of R152a increasing, the system pressure level increases and the power output varies accordingly, which provides an additional means of capacity adjustment. The collector efficiency and thermal efficiency of zeotropic mixtures are comparatively higher than pure fluid of R245fa in the experimental condition, which indicates that zeotropic mixtures have the potential for overall efficiency improvement. Due to the non-isothermal condensation of zeotropic mixture, the condensing heat could be partially recovered by adding an external heat exchanger. Thus, compared with pure fluid R245fa the system overall efficiency of zeotropic mixtures could be improved.     

不同工质对太阳能有机朗肯循环系统性能的影响

循环工质的特性是影响有机朗肯循环系统性能的重要因素之一,在不同的蒸发温度条件下,选取R600、R600a、R245fa、R236fa、R236ea、R601、R601a、RC318及R227ea共9种有机工质,基于热力学第一定律和第二定律对其热力循环特性进行了计算分析,并对各有机工质的蒸发压力、热效率、功比和不可逆损失等进行了比较.结果表明：R245fa作为太阳能低温热发电朗肯循环系统的循环工质具有较高的热效率和效率,并且产生的系统总不可逆损失较小,是一种较理想的有机工质;其次,R236fa和R236ea作为系统循环工质也具有较为良好的性能.     

Component exergy analysis of solar powered transcritical CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> rankine cycle system

In this paper,exergy analysis method is developed to assess a Rankine cycle system,by using supercritical CO2 as working fluid and powered by solar energy.The proposed system consists of evacuated solar collectors,throttling valve,high-temperature heat exchanger,low-temperature heat exchanger,and feed pump.The system is designed for utilize evacuated solar collectors to convert solar energy into mechanical energy and hence electricity.In order to investigate and estimate exergy performance of this system,the energy,entropy,exergy balances are developed for the components.The exergy destructions and exergy efficiency values of the system components are also determined.The results indicate that solar collector and high temperature heat exchanger which have low exergy efficiencies contribute the largest share to system irreversibility and should be the optimization design focus to improve system exergy effectiveness.Further,exergy analysis is a useful tool in this regard as it permits the performance of each process to be assessed and losses to be quantified.Exergy analysis results can be used in design,optimization,and improvement efforts.     

Analysis of zeotropic mixtures used in low-temperature solar Rankine cycles for power generation

This paper presents the analysis of low-temperature solar Rankine cycles for power generation using zeotropic mixtures. Three typical mass fractions 0.9/0.1 (Ma) 0.65/0.35 (Mb), 0.45/0.55 (Mc) of R245fa/R152a are chosen. In the proposed temperature range from 25 °C to 85 °C, the three zeotropic mixtures are investigated as the working fluids of the low-temperature solar Rankine cycle. Because there is an obvious temperature glide during phase change for zeotropic mixtures, an internal heat exchanger (IHE) is introduced to the Rankine cycle. Investigation shows that different from the pure fluids, among the proposed zeotropic mixtures, the isentropic working fluid Mb possesses the lowest Rankine cycle efficiency. For zeotropic mixtures a significant increase of thermal efficiencies can be gained when superheating is combined with IHE. It is also indicated that utilizing zeotropic mixtures can extend the range of choosing working fluids for low-temperature solar Rankine cycles.     

Solar energy powered Rankine cycle using supercritical CO2

A solar energy powered Rankine cycle using supercritical CO₂ for combined production of electricity and thermal energy is proposed. The proposed system consists of evacuated solar collectors, power generating turbine, high-temperature heat recovery system, low-temperature heat recovery system, and feed pump. The system utilizes evacuated solar collectors to convert CO₂ into high-temperature supercritical state, used to drive a turbine and thereby produce mechanical energy and hence electricity. The system also recovers heat (high-temperature heat and low-temperature heat), which could be used for refrigeration, air conditioning, hot water supply, etc. in domestic or commercial buildings. An experimental prototype has been designed and constructed. The prototype system has been tested under typical summer conditions in Kyoto, Japan; It was found that CO₂ is efficiently converted into high-temperature supercritical state, of while electricity and hot water can be generated. The experimental results show that the solar energy powered Rankine cycle using CO₂ works stably in a trans-critical region. The estimated power generation efficiency is 0.25 and heat recovery efficiency is 0.65. This study shows the potential of the application of the solar-powered Rankine cycle using supercritical CO₂.     

太阳能有机朗肯循环发电系统分析

为高效利用太阳能,提出了太阳能平板集热器与有机朗肯循环相结合的发电系统。本文从太阳能低温发电系统的基本原理、工质选择及系统组成部分入手,分析了影响系统循环效率的因素。发现具有较大潜热与显热之比的干性或等熵有机工质适合本发电系统,并且膨胀机和冷凝器对系统循环效率影响较大。采用增加内部热交换器的再热循环、抽汽回热循环可以降低冷凝器的冷凝负荷,选择合适的再热度、抽汽量及抽汽压力可以提高系统循环效率。     

Design and analysis of a novel low-temperature solar thermal electric system with two-stage collectors and heat storage units

The proposed low-temperature solar thermal electric generation is based on the compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) of small concentration ratio and Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC). The technologies of CPC and ORC are analyzed, and feasibility of the system is demonstrated. In particular, two-stage collectors and heat storage units are adopted to improve heat collection efficiency. Organic fluid is preheated by flat plate collectors (FPCs) prior to entering a higher temperature heat exchanger connected with the CPC. The two-stage heat storage units are composed of two types of phase change material (PCM) with diverse melting temperatures. The novel configuration is carefully designed to react to different operating conditions. The fundamentals are illustrated for both simultaneous and separate processes of heat collection and power conversion. Mathematic models are built for heat transfer and thermodynamics of the innovative system. Coupling relationship among the proportion of FPC to CPC, the melting temperature of the first-stage PCM and the overall collector efficiency is established. The benefits of the preheating concept and cascaded heat storages are investigated in detail in comparison with the single-stage system. The results indicate that the increase in collector efficiency of the two-stage system is appreciable.     

Experimental study on the performance of solar Rankine system using supercritical CO2

An experimental study is carried out to investigate the performance of a solar Rankine system using supercritical CO₂ as a working fluid. The testing machine of the solar Rankine system consists of an evacuated solar collector, a pressure relief valve, heat exchangers and CO₂ feed pump, etc. The solar energy powered system can provide electricity output as well as heat supply/refrigeration, etc. The system performance is evaluated based on daily, monthly and yearly experiment data. The results obtained show that heat collection efficiency for the CO₂-based solar collector is measured at 65.0–70.0%. The power generation efficiency is found at 8.78–9.45%, which is higher than the value 8.20% of a solar cell. The result presents a potential future for the solar powered CO₂ Rankine system to be used as distributed energy supply system for buildings or others.     

A procedure to select working fluids for Solar Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs)

The selection of working fluid and working conditions of the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) has a great effect on the system operation, and its energy efficiency and impact on the environment. The main purpose of this study is to develop a procedure to compare capabilities of working fluids when they are employed in solar Rankine cycles with similar working conditions. The Refprop 8.0 database with 117 organic fluids has been considered as the reference in this study. A procedure to compare ORC working fluids based on their molecular components, temperature–entropy diagram and fluid effects on the thermal efficiency, net power generated, vapor expansion ratio, and exergy efficiency of the Rankine cycle has been proposed. Fluids with the best cycle performance have been recognized in two different temperature levels within two different categories of fluids: refrigerants and non-refrigerants. Based on categories of solar collectors, 11 fluids have been suggested to be employed in solar ORCs that use low or medium temperature solar collectors. Collector efficiency improvement and use of the regenerative ORC instead of the basic cycle reduce irreversibility of a solar ORC. Calculation results show that for selected fluids, the theoretical limits for irreversibility reduction and exergy efficiency enhancement through collector efficiency improvement are 35% and 5% respectively, when the collector efficiency increases from 70% to 100%. The effect of regeneration on the exergy efficiency of the cycle is fluid dependent while the effect of collector efficiency improvement on the exergy efficiency of the cycle is nearly independent of fluid type. At the two temperature levels studied, higher molecular complexity results in more effective regenerative cycles except for Cyclohydrocarbons.     

分级抽汽回热式太阳能低温有机朗肯循环系统的热力性能分析

研究了分级抽汽回热式太阳能低温有机朗肯循环系统的热力性能。以R600和R245fa作为循环工质,利用热力学第一定律和第二定律,在不同的蒸发温度和膨胀比的条件下,对分级抽汽回热式系统和基本有机朗肯循环系统的热力性能变化进行比较和分析,指出分级抽汽回热式系统的热效率和效率更高,产生的不可逆损失更小,具有更优越的性能。     

A comparison of solar absorption air conditioning systems

A computer simulation of solar powered absorption air conditioning systems is discussed. The results of simulations of various systems composed of conventional flat plate or evacuated tube collectors, wet or dry cooling towers, lithium bromide-water or aqua-ammonia working fluids and hot water, chilled water or refrigerant storage alternatives are obtained over a common operating cycle. Performance of the lithium bromide-water working fluid is shown to be superior to aqua-ammonia. Relative performance gains realized with the evacuated tube collector and relative performance losses associated with the dry cooling tower are presented. Chilled water storage is shown to be advantageous for an evacuated collector, dry cooling tower, lithium bromide-water system.     

Thermodynamic analysis and optimization of a solar-driven regenerative organic Rankine cycle (ORC) based on flat-plate solar collectors

This paper presents a regenerative organic Rankine cycle (ORC) to utilize the solar energy over a low temperature range. Flat-plate solar collectors are used to collect the solar radiation for their low costs. A thermal storage system is employed to store the collected solar energy and provide continuous power output when solar radiation is insufficient. A daily average efficiency is defined to evaluate the system performance exactly instead of instantaneous efficiency. By establishing mathematical models to simulate the system under steady-state conditions, parametric analysis is conducted to examine the effects of some thermodynamic parameters on the system performance using different working fluids. The system is also optimized with the daily average efficiency as its objective function by means of genetic algorithm under the given conditions. The results indicate that under the actual constraints, increasing turbine inlet pressure and temperature or lowering the turbine back pressure could improve the system performance. The parametric optimization also implies that a higher turbine inlet temperature with saturated vapor state could obtain the better system performance. Compared with other working fluids, R245fa and R123 are the most suitable working fluids for the system due to their high system performance and low operation pressure.     

Economic appraisal of small-scale solar organic Rankine cycle operating under different electric tariffs and geographical conditions

In the present paper, the economic feasibility of small-scale solar organic Rankine cycle power applications which are assisted with auxiliary gas heaters is investigated. The system is analyzed using three different capacities of ORC system with R-245fa (35, 65, and 110 kWe) in combination with solar water heating system (SWHS) using three models. Flat plate, compound parabolic and evacuated tube solar collectors were used to generate heat with overall heat transfer coefficient (F_RU_L) of 4.35, 1.57, and 2.23 W/m². K respectively. System Advisor Model (SAM) is used to simulate the solar water heater system and optimize the tilt angle, collector area, volume of storage tank and capacity of auxiliary heater under the climatic conditions of Abu Dhabi, New Delhi, Larnaca, Madrid and Munich. The simulation results revealed that the evacuated tube and the compound parabolic collectors performed better than the flat plate collectors. The economic analysis showed that Solar ORC Power Plant is economically and technically feasible with all types of the thermal collectors in Famagusta/Larnaca, Munich and Madrid where the electricity tariff is higher than other cities. Levelized cost of energy (LCOE) is calculated using mathematical model and it ranges between 0.07 and 0.2 USD/kWh based on the plant capacity and type of thermal collectors. Moreover, the profit increase as the plant capacity increase where SIR is 1.05, 1.71, and 2.10 for 35, 65, and 110 kW plant capacity SORC with CPC. A sensitivity analysis is also performed to investigate the effect of operating hours, electricity tariff, ORC unit cost and ORC unit type on the feasibility of the system. According to the results, the electricity tariff and operating hours are the most important parameters because they have a large effect and Play important role on the economic feasibility of the system.     

三角转子膨胀机在有机朗肯循环中应用分析

基于中低温太阳能驱动的有机朗肯循环应用背景,分析三角转子机械作为膨胀机的运行特征,通过建立含泄漏影响的运行过程热力学模型对膨胀机性能进行计算,分析以R245fa为工质在单个膨胀周期内膨胀机内部的热力学性能,包括进气角度、形状因子、偏心距和轴距系数等型线设计参数对膨胀机性能的影响。结果显示,三角转子膨胀机可实现较大的膨胀压比,所讨论的因素会对质量流量、输出功率、膨胀压比和容积效率产生影响,适当选择结构参数可优化膨胀机的性能。     

Experimental analysis of thermal performance of flat plate and evacuated tube solar collectors in stationary standard and daily conditions

New comparative tests on two different types of solar collectors are presented in this paper. A standard glazed flat plate collector and an evacuated tube collector are installed in parallel and tested at the same working conditions; the evacuated collector is a direct flow through type with external compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) reflectors.Efficiency in steady-state and quasi-dynamic conditions is measured following the standard EN 12975-2 and it is compared with the input/output curves measured for the whole day.The first purpose of the present work is the comparison of results in steady-state and quasi-dynamic test methods both for flat plate and evacuated tube collectors. Beside this, the objective is to characterize and to compare the daily energy performance of these two types of collectors. An effective mean for describing and analyzing the daily performance is the so called input/output diagram, in which the collected solar energy is plotted against the daily incident solar radiation. Test runs have been performed in several conditions to reproduce different conventional uses (hot water, space heating, solar cooling).Results are also presented in terms of daily efficiency versus daily average reduced temperature difference: this allows to represent the comparative characteristics of the two collectors when operating under variable conditions, especially with wide range of incidence angles.     

有机工质低温余热发电系统多目标优化设计

针对现有有机朗肯循环单目标优化设计的局限性,从热力性、经济性等多方面对有机工质低温余热发电系统进行多目标优化设计.以系统效率最大和总投资费用最小为目标函数,选取透平进口温度、透平进口压力、余热锅炉节点温差、接近点温差和冷凝器端差等5个关键热力参数作为决策变量,利用非支配解排序遗传算法(NSGA-II)分别对采用R123、R245fa和异丁烷的有机工质余热发电系统进行多目标优化,获得不同工质的多目标优化的最优解集(Pareto最优前沿),并采用理想点辅助法从最优解集中选择出最优解及相应的系统最佳热力参数组合.结果表明:在给定余热条件下,从热力性能和经济性两方面考虑,R245fa是最优的有机工质,从多目标优化的最优解集中选择出的最佳效率为10.37%,最小总投资费用为455.84万元.     

Long term performance of evacuated tubular solar water heaters in Sydney, Australia

The performance of a domestic hot water system employing evacuated tubular collectors is compared with two others employing flat plate collectors over a period of one year. The efficiency of the evacuated tubular collector system was about 1.8 times that of a non selective flat plate system and about 1.3 times that of a high quality selective flat plate system. The superior performance of the evacuated system is explained in terms of the distribution of incident energy as a function of (ΔT/G) for domestic systems and the normal incidence collector efficiency curves.     

Potentialities of the solar-operated rankine engine

Small-capacity solar Rankine engines can operate at low and medium temperature ranges. The performance of this engine depends basically on the collector subsystem, the working fluid and the type of expander. The problems and potentialities of different alternatives of these items are discussed. Three working fluids, toluene, Fluorinol-85 and steam, were selected to examine the performance of the Rankine engine and its potentiality in the medium temperature range (150–350°C). Four types of parabolic trough solar collectors, available in the international market, were considered in this analysis. It was concluded that steam provides the best option while FL-85 still has good advantages. Extensive efforts are needed to find the most suitable expander for this system.