Dynamic Modeling and Comparison Study of Control Strategies of a Small-Scale Organic Rankine Cycle

Yuhao Zhou, Jiongming Ruan, Guotong Hong and Zheng Miao
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Yuhao Zhou: Key Laboratory of Technology on Space Energy Conversion, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Jiongming Ruan: Huadian Electric Power Research Institute Co., Ltd., Hangzhou 310030, China
Guotong Hong: Key Laboratory of Technology on Space Energy Conversion, Technical Institute of Physics and Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Zheng Miao: Beijing Key Laboratory of Multiphase Flow and Heat Transfer for Low-Grade Energy Utilization, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 15, 1-21

Abstract: The control strategy is crucial for the effective and safe operation of the ORC system. A transient model of the ORC system was developed in the present work and validated by the experimental data of a 4 kW ORC prototype. Then, the effect of heat source temperature on the dynamic response and operation characteristics of the ORC system were analyzed. Five control strategies were compared: the constant working fluid mass flow rate mode, constant vapor superheat mode, constant vapor temperature mode, constant evaporation pressure mode and constant output power load mode. Under the constraint that the working fluid at the expander inlet should be superheated, we found that the constant vapor superheat mode enabled the safe operation with the largest range of heat source temperature, while the other four modes were only available for a certain temperature range. Apart from the constant output power mode, the constant evaporation pressure mode can also provide a relatively stable performance for the ORC unit. The variation of the thermal efficiency was limited when the heat source temperature was higher than 125 °C, except for the constant vapor temperature mode. Considering the high performance and stable operation of the ORC system, it is necessary to have different operation modes combined in the control strategy according to the specific working scenarios.

Keywords: organic Rankine cycle; dynamic modeling; control strategy; output power; thermal efficiency (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: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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