Experimental and Numerical Analyses on the Rotary Vane Expander Operating Conditions in a Micro Organic Rankine Cycle System

Piotr Kolasiński, Przemysław Błasiak and Józef Rak
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Piotr Kolasiński: Department of Thermodynamics, Theory of Machines and Thermal Systems, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, Wrocław 50-370, Poland
Przemysław Błasiak: Department of Thermodynamics, Theory of Machines and Thermal Systems, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, Wrocław 50-370, Poland
Józef Rak: Department of Thermodynamics, Theory of Machines and Thermal Systems, Faculty of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Wrocław University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, Wrocław 50-370, Poland

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 8, 1-15

Abstract: Micro (0.5–10 kW) organic Rankine cycle (ORC) power systems are nowadays considered for domestic power generation. Selection of a suitable expander is one of the most important problems connected with the domestic ORC system design. Volumetric machines or micro-turbines can be adopted as an expander in domestic ORC systems. Scroll and screw expanders are a common choice and were successfully applied in different small- and micro-power applications. However, micro-turbines as well as scroll and screw expanders are mechanically complicated and expensive. An alternative are rotary-vane machines, which are simple and cheap compared to micro-turbines. This paper documents a study providing the experimental and numerical analyses on the rotary vane expander operating conditions in a micro-ORC system. A test-stand was designed and set up and a series of experiments was performed using the test-stand. Results of these experiments were further used as an input to numerical simulations of an expander operation. In order to simulate the expander operating conditions, a three-dimensional numerical model has been prepared. The analysis presented in this paper indicates that a properly designed multi-vane expander is a cheap and mechanically simple alternative to other expansion devices proposed for domestic ORC systems.

Keywords: organic Rankine cycle (ORC); rotary vane expander; numerical modelling; domestic energy conversion system (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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