Analysis of Organic Rankine Cycle efficiency and vapor generator heat transfer surface in function of the reduced pressure

Abstract

In the paper presented is analysis of the influence of reduced pressure on efficiency and heat transfer area of vapor generator of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) in case of subcritical and supercritical parameters of operation. Compared are two cases of subcritical and supercritical ORC featuring a similar arrangement of heat source supply and heat removal, that is featuring the same temperatures of working fluid before the turbine, and the same condensation temperature in the respective cycles. The analysis is helpful in selection of the appropriate pressure in the vapor generator. In accomplished analyses a selection of wet ORC working fluids are scrutinized for a given range of heat source temperatures with respect to influence on efficiency of thermodynamic cycle and vapor generator area of heat transfer on installation and operation costs to illustrate the issue. Investment cost of a vapor generator in the ORC cycle accounts for a main share of expenditure alongside the cost of the expanding machine. Results of calculations show that from the point of view of cycle efficiency and size of vapor generator the pressures close to critical fluid pressure are usually optimal. Some working fluids feature even an optimal pressure. For the region close to critical point authors elaborated own method for heat transfer coefficients elaboration, which is useful in more exact estimations of heat transfer process in vapor generator. In case of a heat source with a relatively high temperature, it is better to consider a thermodynamic cycle with supercritical parameters even if as a result the vapor generator is slightly larger than for the case of a subcritical cycle. There will always be a more pronounced gain in efficiency compared to the expense induced by the heat transfer surface area of vapor generator.