Preliminary Development of a Free Piston Expander–Linear Generator for Small-Scale Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) Waste Heat Recovery System

Gaosheng Li, Hongguang Zhang, Fubin Yang, Songsong Song, Ying Chang, Fei Yu, Jingfu Wang and Baofeng Yao
Additional contact information
Gaosheng Li: College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan No. 100, Beijing 100124, China
Hongguang Zhang: College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan No. 100, Beijing 100124, China
Fubin Yang: College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan No. 100, Beijing 100124, China
Songsong Song: College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan No. 100, Beijing 100124, China
Ying Chang: College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan No. 100, Beijing 100124, China
Fei Yu: College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan No. 100, Beijing 100124, China
Jingfu Wang: College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan No. 100, Beijing 100124, China
Baofeng Yao: College of Environmental and Energy Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, Pingleyuan No. 100, Beijing 100124, China

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 4, 1-18

Abstract: A novel free piston expander-linear generator (FPE-LG) integrated unit was proposed to recover waste heat efficiently from vehicle engine. This integrated unit can be used in a small-scale Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) system and can directly convert the thermodynamic energy of working fluid into electric energy. The conceptual design of the free piston expander (FPE) was introduced and discussed. A cam plate and the corresponding valve train were used to control the inlet and outlet valve timing of the FPE. The working principle of the FPE-LG was proven to be feasible using an air test rig. The indicated efficiency of the FPE was obtained from the p – V indicator diagram. The dynamic characteristics of the in-cylinder flow field during the intake and exhaust processes of the FPE were analyzed based on Fluent software and 3D numerical simulation models using a computation fluid dynamics method. Results show that the indicated efficiency of the FPE can reach 66.2% and the maximal electric power output of the FPE-LG can reach 22.7 W when the working frequency is 3 Hz and intake pressure is 0.2 MPa. Two large-scale vortices are formed during the intake process because of the non-uniform distribution of velocity and pressure. The vortex flow will convert pressure energy and kinetic energy into thermodynamic energy for the working fluid, which weakens the power capacity of the working fluid.

Keywords: free piston expander (FPE); conceptual design; cam plate; dynamic characteristics; 3D numerical simulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (16)

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