Surrogate-Assisted Multi-Objective Optimisation of Transcritical Carbon Dioxide Scroll Expander Flank Clearance Based on Computational Fluid Dynamics

Yuheng Du, Shuang Li, Michael Pekris, Wei Li and Guohong Tian ()
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Yuheng Du: School of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Shuang Li: Control and Simulation Center, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150006, China
Michael Pekris: School of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Wei Li: Control and Simulation Center, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150006, China
Guohong Tian: School of Mechanical Engineering Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK

Energies, 2023, vol. 16, issue 14, 1-19

Abstract: Transcritical carbon dioxide waste heat recovery systems and the construction of scroll expanders have recently been hot topics. The flank clearance, located between the orbiting and fixed scroll, has a vital impact on the scroll expander performance. This paper estimates the effect of the flank clearance on the expander’s thermodynamic performance (first-law efficiency) based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The manufacturing cost of different flank clearances is also considered to enhance the feasibility of the machinery design. The computational cost for different flank clearance cases is significantly reduced with a surrogate-assisted multi-objective optimisation algorithm (SAMOA), which also supports modelling the trade-off relationship between manufacturing cost and machinery efficiency. The results indicated that an increasing flank clearance negatively affects the first-law thermal efficiency. The efficiency decreased from 87.41% to 44.83% moving from 20 to 200 μm flank clearances. The SAMOA successfully reduced the computational cost of the dynamic mesh CFD model from 90 h to 15 s with 0.6% discrepancy. The final Pareto solutions presented a clear trade-off relationship between the first-law efficiency and manufacturing cost and promised a diversity of optimum solutions. The “knee points” for the relationship were 25, 55, and 127 μm, which provided flexible clearance choices based on the importance of either machinery efficiency or manufacturing cost.

Keywords: transcritical CO 2 cycle; scroll expander; flank clearance; surrogate-assisted optimisation; multi-objective optimisation (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: 2023
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