Design, Modelling, and Control of a Waste Heat Recovery Unit for Heavy-Duty Truck Engines

Abstract

This paper presents a feasibility study on a waste heat recovery system for heavy-duty truck engines based on organic Rankine cycle (ORC) technology. The elements of novelty of the work are: i) the proposed plant configuration, and ii) the feasibility study that encompasses the whole preliminary design workflow of the system, namely, from the thermodynamic cycle optimization and the components preliminary sizing, to dynamic modelling and the design of a PI-based control system. The conceived ORC turbogenerator employs hexamethyldisiloxane (MM) as working fluid and achieves a maximum rated mechanical power of approximately 5 kW at the design point, corresponding to a truck cruise speed and a Diesel engine power output of 85 km h-1 and 100 kW respectively. Regarding the dynamic performance, the higher response time of the ORC unit compared to that of the Diesel engine makes the adoption of an advanced control system necessary. In particular, the simulation of a PI-based control system shows that it becomes impossible to prevent the thermal decomposition of the working fluid when the engine operates continuously at high power levels. This case study demonstrates the importance for automotive ORC applications of performing the investigation of dynamic performance and control design already in the early design phase.