Simulation of single acting natural gas Reciprocating Expansion Engine based on ideal gas model

Abstract

The potential energy of high pressure gas destroyed in natural gas pressure reduction stations during pressure reduction when it passes through throttling valves. One way to recover this energy is to use a Reciprocating Expansion Engine coupled with a generator. The expansion engine is able to produce electricity as pressure decreases by recovering the potential energy. Although the expansion engine has been utilized in pressure reduction points for some time but it has not been analyzed for performance enhancement yet. In this work an advanced numerical simulation has been presented for the thermodynamic modeling of Natural Gas Single Acting Reciprocating Expansion Engine under various working conditions for high pressure ranges. The simulation has been carried out to understand the effects of various parameters and to improve performance of the engine. A range of geometric parameters such as suction diameter, piston diameter, crank radius, connecting rod length, speed were covered in this research. Because of the physical and numerical difficulties of the problem, the natural gas is assumed as an ideal gas.