Strict emissions legislation and energy security debates have spurred extensive research in alternative fuels and renewable energies. Literature research has shown the need for improvements in internal combustion engines (ICE) due to their low efficiencies. Significant gains in efficiency can be accomplished with the use of waste heat recovery (WHR) techniques. Organic rankine cycles (ORC) with turbocompounding harness the waste heat from an ICE to improve efficiency and fuel economy while reducing brake-specific emissions. A mathematical model was developed to explore the potential gains in 1st and 2nd law efficiencies. The model approaches the evaluations of the ORC from a practical and a theoretical method. The practical method in evaluation 1 limits the outlet exhaust gas temperatures from the evaporator to prevent the formation of condensation. The performance of the ORC is then evaluated and compared to the evaluation 2. In the theoretical method, in evaluation 2, the effect of pinch point on the evaporator and the entire cycle was analyzed. This analysis was conducted for R113, a dry fluid, and propane, a wet fluid, in order to analyze the differences in the two types of fluids. R113 showed a 13% – 22% and a 6% – 14.7% increase in 1st and 2nd law efficiencies, respectively. Propane showed a 9% – 17.4% and a 2% – 8.5% increase in 1st and 2nd law efficiencies, respectively. It was also shown that as the pinch point temperature decreases the 2nd law efficiencies increased. It was concluded that use of ORC with turbocompounding is an effective method for waste heat recovery in order to increase ICE efficiency.

The present work addresses the thermodynamic optimization of small binary-cycle geothermal power plants. The optimization process and entropy generation minimization analysis were performed to minimize the overall exergy loss of the power plant, and the irreversibilities associated with heat transfer and fluid friction caused by the system components. The effect of the geothermal resource temperature to impact on the cycle power output was studied, and it was found that the maximum cycle power output increases exponentially with the geothermal resource temperature. In addition, an optimal turbine inlet temperature was determined, and observed to increase almost linearly with the increase in the geothermal heat source. Furthermore, a coaxial geothermal heat exchanger was modeled and sized for minimum pumping power and maximum extracted heat energy. The geofluid circulation flow rate was also optimized, subject to a nearly linear increase in geothermal gradient. In both limits of the fully turbulent and laminar fully-developed flows, a nearly identical diameter ratio of the coaxial pipes was determined irrespective of the flow regime, whereas the optimal geofluid mass flow rate increased exponentially with the Reynolds number. SeveORCs were observed to yield maximum cycle power output. The addition of an IHE and/or an Oral organic Rankine Cycles were also considered as part of the study. The basic types of the FOH improved significantly the effectiveness of the conversion of the available geothermal energy into useful work, and increased the thermal efficiency of the geothermal power plant. Therefore, the regenerative ORCs were preferred for high-grade geothermal heat. In addition, a performance analysis of several organic fluids was conducted under saturation temperature and subcritical pressure operating conditions of the turbine. Organic fluids with higher boiling point temperature, such as n-pentane, were recommended for the basic type of ORCs, whereas those with lower vapour specific heat capacity, such as butane, were more suitable for the regenerative ORCs. / Dissertation (MEng)--University of Pretoria, 2013. / Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering / unrestricted

Ce travail de thèse concerne l’étude de la faisabilité des cycles organiques sous-critiques et supercritiques de Rankine pour la valorisation de rejets thermiques industriels à basse température. Dans un premier temps, un état de l’art des cycles ORC (acronyme anglais pour Organic Rankine Cycle) et leurs fluides de travail a été réalisé. Nous avons réalisé une comparaison préliminaire de plusieurs configurations à partir de la littérature scientifique. Dans un second temps, les méthodes d’analyse énergétique et exergétique ont été appliquées pour évaluer et optimiser les performances des cycles ORC. En effet, la seule méthode d’analyse énergétique n’est pas suffisante pour juger de la bonne utilisation du potentiel énergétique de la source de chaleur disponible correspondant à un rejet industrielle de chaleur (chaleur fatale). L’analyse exergétique, intervient en complément de l’analyse énergétique du système, afin de permettre de localiser les pertes des ressources énergétiques dans les différentes composantes du système et de déterminer leurs importances relatives et leurs causes. Une optimisation thermo-économique des installations de valorisation de rejets thermiques utilisant un cycle sous-critique ou supercritique de Rankine a été effectuée. Nos résultats montrent que la valorisation de rejets thermiques industriels à basse température (ex. source thermique de 150 °C) en utilisant un cycle ORC sous-critique est plus intéressante sur le plan énergétique que celle opérée en utilisant un cycle supercritique de Rankine. / This thesis concerns the feasibility study of subcritical and supercritical organic Rankine cycles for industrial waste heat recovery at relatively low temperature. Initially, a state of the art of ORCs (Organic Rankine Cycles) and their working fluids has been achieved. We conducted a preliminary comparison of several configurations from the scientific literature. In a second step, methods of energy and exergy analysis were applied to evaluate and optimize the performance of the ORCs. Indeed, sole energy analysis is not enough to access the proper use of the energy potential of the available heat source that corresponds to an industrial waste heat. Exergy analysis, in a complementary way to the energy analysis, enables us to locate the energy resources losses in the various components of the system and to determine their true magnitude and their causes. A thermo-economic optimization of waste heat recovery systems using a subcritical or supercritical Rankine cycle has been performed. According to the results, the industrial waste heat recovery at low temperature (e.g. heat source 150 ° C) using a subcritical ORC is more interesting on economic point of view than the system using a supercritical Rankine cycle