Thermodynamic Performance Analysis on Various Configurations of Organic Rankine Cycle Systems

Abstract

The efficiencies of single screw expander and multi-stage centrifugal pump are obtained by fitting experimental data, and which substitute the constant efficiencies of the expander and the pump in most researches. Modelling analysis of four configurations of organic Rankine cycle system (conventional organic Rankine cycle, organic Rankine cycle with a regenerator, extraction organic Rankine cycle and extraction organic Rankine cycle with a regenerator) is conducted, the effects of evaporation pressure and condensation temperature on the thermal efficiency of different cycle configurations are investigated and compared. Extraction pressure and extraction ratio are introduced to analyze the thermal efficiency of the latter two cycle configurations. Result shows that the extraction organic Rankine cycle with a regenerator has the highest thermal efficiency at the same operation condition; evaporation pressure has a positive effect on the thermal efficiency, while condensation temperature has a negative effect under a certain range. This study can provide a reference for the selection of the cycle configuration and design of operation parameters for a given system.