Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
h i g h l i g h t s
< A scroll expander is modelled and parameter values are estimated experimentally.
< The scroll expander shows a maximum isentropic efciency of 59%.
< A dynamic model of a low-cost solar thermal cogeneration system is presented.
< The cycle thermal efciency is 3.47%.
< 1710 kWh electricity is produced per year as a by-product of heating water.
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 11 December 2011
Accepted 28 June 2012
Available online 13 December 2012
Small-scale solar thermal cogeneration shows promise as an effective way to get increased benet out of
a given solar availability, since it does not waste potential during summer after the water capacity is
heated. In this paper a scroll expander is tested in a small organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and used to
calibrate a static expander model. Validation of the scroll expander model shows agreement generally
within 10% for the shaft power, 5% for the rotational speed and 6 K for the exhaust temperature, with
some outliers at very low pressure ratios. This calibrated model is then incorporated into a larger
dynamic model of a solar thermal cogeneration system, designed for some larger dwelling unit or small
commercial establishment that requires a larger volume of hot water. An annual simulation is conducted
using a collector area of 50 m2, and the scroll expander shows a maximum isentropic efciency of 59%
while the ORC efciency is 3.47%. The total energy produced is 1710 kWh and the hot water available is
on average 2540 L/day. The maximum instantaneous power that can be produced by the system is 676 W,
and it is possible to shift the time period that the system is producing power to match the peak demand
period by adjusting the solar store volume.
2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Organic Rankine cycle
Dynamic modelling
Scroll expander
Solar cogeneration
1. Introduction
Amidst uncertain economic times and increasing electricity
costs, many home and small business owners are looking to invest
in renewable energy, and especially solar energy, as a stable
supplement. There are a number of emerging systems, but solar
power is typically generated by one of two methods. The rst is
photovoltaic (PV) solar capture that converts solar irradiance
directly to electricity and typically has an efciency between 12 and
20%. Solar thermal captures the irradiance as thermal energy and
has a heating efciency generally about 60%, so it is the better
choice for pure heating applications. To generate electricity, the
1308
Evacuated tube
collectors
Solar storage
vessel
W
Qin
W
Scroll expander
Pump
To hot water
storage
Qout
Condenser
m
City supply water
Wsh
(a) Adiabatic supply pressure drop (su e su,1): This process accounts
for all pressure losses between the expander inlet and the
suction chamber. It is approximated as an isentropic ow
through a converging nozzle as per Eq. (1) with throat area, Asu,
computed by parameter optimisation.
Asu
vthr;su
3
2
AUsu
_ p
m$c
5m$c
_ hsu;1 hsu;2 41 e
_ p $ Tsu;1 Tw ;
m$
(2)
_
m
;
AUsu AUsu;n $
_n
m
q
2 hsu hthr;su
(1)
W in
(c) Internal leakage (su,2 e ex,2): Fluid that leaks inside the
machine undergoes no useful expansion and is a signicant
contributor to loss in the expander. All leakage paths are
lumped into a hypothetical area Aleak, which is computed by
comparison to ow through an isentropic nozzle of said throat
area:
su,2 M in
M
Qsu
in
M leak
ex,2
ex,1
Wloss
vthr;leak
(4)
vin rv $vsu;2 :
(5)
_
_ in hsu;2 hin vin Pin Pex;2 :
W
in m
su
su,1
Aleak q
2 hsu;2 hthr;leak :
V=cte
s=cte
(3)
_ leak
m
_
m
Q_ su
1309
ex
M
Qex
Q amb
Fig. 2. Conceptual scheme of the expander model by Lemort et al. [13]. From left to
right across the gure, there are three regions: the supply (su), internal (in), and
exhaust (ex). The cte notation in the gure indicates that the variable described
remains constant through the process.
(6)
2$p$N$sloss
_
_
W
:
sh W in
60
(7)
(8)
1310
_
_
_
_
W
loss Q ex Q su Q amb 0:
(9)
4. System modelling
In this section, a dynamic model of the cogeneration system
contained within the scope boundary in Fig. 1 is developed. The
model should be used to full the following objectives:
Estimate the daily and annual power generation of the system
Estimate the volume of hot water available to the establishment due to solar capture
Determine the maximum temperature observed in the solar
thermal cycle to limit boiling
Assess the compatibility of a scroll expander with this type of
system
Observe sensitivity to a change of collector area, solar store
volume and ORC mass ow rate.
The model is based on one 24-h day cycle. In order to attain
annual results, a model for each month is given parameters based
on the average of all days in that month. Specic details are given in
the following subsections, and month-specic parameters given in
Table 4.
Within the system model, it is assumed that the piping in the
solar cycle is insulated according to AS 3500.4 Section 8.2 [16], to
the effect that heat loss from the pipes is negligible. The power
required by the solar circulation pump and controller are neglected
because they are small compared to the solar thermal energy, and
since they are used for heating, should not be included in electrical
efciency. Also, local heating and cooling effects, including thermal
stratication of storage vessels, are neglected for simplication of
analysis. This is a conservative approach since stratication effects
have a positive inuence on the efciency of solar systems [17]. It is
Electric element
heater
G
Oil return
Receiver
Coriolis
flow meter
Electrical resistor
network
1311
Table 3
Scroll expander parameters.
Variable
Input 1
Input 2
Input 3
Parameter
Description
Value
_
m
rp
Tsu
0.05 kg/s
1.3
80 C
0.06 kg/s
1.5
100 C
0.07 kg/s
1.7
120 C
Medium
AUamb
AUsu,n
AUex,n
Asu,thr
Aleak
rv
Vs,exp
Fluid medium
Overall heat transfer coefcient to ambient
Supply overall heat transfer coefcient
Exhaust overall heat transfer coefcient
Supply nozzle throat area
Internal leakage area
Built-in volume ratio
Swept volume in expander mode
Mechanical loss torque
R134a
0.5 W/K
35 W/K
0.1 W/K
50e6 m2
4.04e6 m2
1.57
53.1e6 m3
0.94 N m
also assumed that heat exchangers are designed and sized appropriately so that sufcient heat exchange is attained to produce
a heat exchange pinch point of DTpinch. Finally, it is assumed that the
scroll expander can be attached to a generator and synchronised to
an electrical grid with minimal inefciencies.
The system model was created in the Dymola environment,
using the Modelica language. Separate modules for each the solar
uid cycle, the scroll expander and the cooling heat exchanger were
developed and connected within a testbed module.
4.1. Solar insolation
The solar insolation is a direct input into the solar uid cycle
model, and is measured in W/m2. The value of irradiance follows
a half sine curve as in Eq. (10)
S 0;
S Smax $sin
S 0;
0 t < trise
ptetrise
tset etrise
trise t tset
(10)
sloss
Ust
rst $Vst
dUst
Q_ sol Q_ uhx Q_ stand :
dt
Table 2
Scroll expander test outputs.
Variable
Weighting
_
W
sh
N
Tex
(552)2
(1257)2
(385)2
(12)
(13)
(14)
dEsol
S$Acol :
dt
(11)
(15)
_ org $Dhorg
Qlhx m
(16)
_ prc $Dhprc
Qlhx m
(17)
1312
Fig. 4. Check of scroll expander modelling against individual experimental test measurements.
_
_ pump morg $ hpump;out hpump;in
W
(18)
hpump
Table 4
Environmental inputs.
Month
Ex (kWh/m2/day)
Smax (W/m2)
Tamb ( C)
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
6.8
6.1
5.6
4.7
3.8
3.4
3.7
4.5
5.6
6.1
6.7
6.9
780
736
715
645
553
514
551
636
738
754
782
781
0506/1848
0531/1833
0548/1806
0605/1732
0621/1708
0636/1701
0637/1710
0619/1726
0546/1741
0513/1755
0449/1816
0447/1839
25.3
24.9
23.5
20.8
17.9
15.3
14.3
15.3
18.1
20.6
22.7
24.2
1313
Table 7
Dynamic testbed parameters.
Parameter
Description
Value
Parameter
Description
Value
Acol
Vst
pst
AUst
50 m2
800 L
300 kPa
2 W/K
_n
m
Tst,max
Tst,min
DTpinch
p1
p2
0.07 kg/s
120 C
85 C
5 C
850 kPa
1500 kPa
0.6
hpump
performance from tests, and the condition that scroll exit temperature is greater than Thw DTpinch to aid water heating. The
nominal ORC mass ow rate is the highest value that will allow
a single continuous ORC period during the day without the need to
switch off and let the solar store recharge. The mass ow rate could
be adjusted seasonally in order to optimise the system. The
dynamic test bed parameters are shown in Table 7.
4.7. System metrics
Some key thermal power variables are dened here which are
useful to judge the effectiveness of the system. The net power
produced in this cycle is dened by:
dEcyc
_
_
W
sh W pump :
dt
(19)
_
_
W
sh W pump
:
Q_
hth
(20)
uhx
hii
th
:
1 Tlhx;min =Tuhx;min
(21)
hs
_
W
sh
;
_ hin hout;s
m$
(22)
Table 6
Cooling heat exchanger temperatures.
Heat exchanger passage
Temperature designation
Torg,in
Torg,out
Tprc,in
Tprc,out
Tex
Tsat
Tamb
Thw
such as ORC mass ow rate, collector area, and solar store volume.
Nominal hot water temperature is imposed: Thw 65 C.
The temperature of the solar store is the most important variable for which the performance of the ORC is dependent. Fig. 7
shows the solar store temperature over one day, for the months
of December, February, April and June. December and June are the
months with the highest and lowest solar exposure, respectively,
as in Table 4. August and October are omitted because they are
very similar to April and February. The maximum expected
temperature is 130 C, which conrms that the minimum working
pressure to prevent boiling in the solar thermal cycle using water is
278 kPa.
The scroll expander performance as a unit can be quantied by
its isentropic efciency, as described in Section 4.7. The expander
performs at between 57% and 59% isentropic efciency for all
months of the year. This is a respectable efciency for a power
expander, however, isentropic efciencies of up to 83% have been
reported in the literature [1,3,12]. Greater isentropic, and therefore system, efciency might be achieved by using a similar sized
scroll expander that has been purpose-built for expansion.
Modications to inlet and exit nozzles as in Mathias et al. [12]
and improved lubrication as in Wang et al. [20] might help
toward this goal.
The ORC performance is quantied by the peak expander power,
_
W
sh;max , rotational speed, Nmax, start and stop time, ton and toff,
daily net energy produced, Ecyc, and total daily volume of hot water
produced, Vprc. Table 8 shows the daily values for these variables for
the average day of each month. Refer to Fig. 9 for a visualisation of
the shaft power evolution over one day. It follows that the total
annual energy produced by this system is 1710 kWh. At a standard
rate for Brisbane of 22.7 c/kWh [21], this might equate to an annual
value of $388.17. For the additional equipment required to form the
ORC (the pump, scroll expander and piping), this system would
likely pay for itself over its lifetime. With scroll expander
improvements, the annual energy produced could signicantly
increase.
The cycle efciencies, as described in Section 4.7, do not vary
signicantly over the course of the year. Thermal efciency, hth,
remains fairly constant at 3.47%, and the second-law efciency, hii,
varies over the course of each day between 15.7% and 23.2%. Fig. 8
shows the daily trend for December, which has a similar shape to
other months.
The second-law efciency is low, and there is potential for
improvement.
It is evident that the pure electrical efciency of this conguration is lower than that for PV. However, the low efciency is
compensated for by the small costs associated with the additional
required equipment.
5.1. Parameter sensitivity
The three parameters most sensitive to change are ORC mass
_ org , collector area, Acol, and solar store volume, Vst.
ow rate, m
1314
Table 8
System performance for the average day in each month.
Month
_
W
sh;max
(W)
Nmax
(rpm)
ton
(24 h)
toff
(24 h)
Ecyc
(kWh/day)
Vprc
(L/day)
hsol (%)
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
676
663
660
660
660
660
660
660
660
664
674
675
1050
1030
1024
1024
1024
1024
1024
1024
1024
1032
1047
1049
0841
0908
0923
0946
1011
1031
1027
1001
0918
0847
0823
0824
1844
1820
1751
1659
1605
1546
1607
1648
1732
1747
1812
1833
6.05
5.46
4.99
4.17
3.34
2.96
3.20
3.90
4.86
5.34
5.89
6.11
3270
2950
2700
2270
1820
1610
1750
2120
2630
2890
3190
3300
51.0
51.4
51.3
51.2
50.9
50.3
50.1
50.1
49.9
50.4
50.5
50.8
1315
The total energy produced is 1710 kWh and the total hot water
available is on average 2540 L/day
The maximum instantaneous power observed is 676 W.
Fig. 8. Cycle efciency for December. The y-axis is capped at 0.30, just above the
Carnot efciency.
Table 9
Parameter sensitivity.
Parameter
_
W
sh;peak (W)
Ecyc (kWh/day)
Vprc (L)
hsol (%)
Reference
_ org 0:06 kg/s
m
_ org 0:08 kg/s
m
Acol 40 m2
Acol 60 m2
675
561
798
660
719
6.11
5.44
6.58
4.93
7.06
3300
3189
3356
2682
3799
50.8
49.0
51.8
51.6
48.7
6. Conclusions
A scroll expander model was calibrated and implemented into
a larger dynamic model of a solar thermal cogeneration system
using evacuated tube collectors suited to some larger dwelling unit
or small commercial establishment. Using a model presented by
Lemort et al. [13], the scroll expander calibration shows agreement
generally within 10% for the shaft power, 5% for the rotational speed
and 6 K for the exhaust temperature, with some outliers at very
low pressure ratios.
When implemented into the dynamic simulation program, with
a collector area of 50 m2 and simulated over a year:
The expander shows a maximum isentropic efciency of 59%
The ORC rst-law thermal efciency is 3.47% and second-law
efciency varies between 15.7% and 23.2%
1316
Glossary
A: area, m2
c: specic heat, J/(kg K)
E: energy, J, kWh
h: specic enthalpy, J/(kg K)
_ mass ow rate, kg/m2
m:
N: speed, rev/min
p: pressure, Pa
Q: heat energy, J
Q_ : heat power, W
r: ratio, e
S: solar insolation, W/m2
T: temperature, C
t: time, s
U: heat transfer coefcient, W/(m2 K)
U: internal energy, J
u: specic internal energy, J/kg
V: volume, m3, L
v: specic volume, m3/kg
_ power, W
W:
Ex: daily solar exposure, kWh/m2/day
Greek symbols
D: difference, e
e: error, e
h: efciency, e
r: density, kg/m3
s: torque, Nm
Subscripts
amb: ambient
col: collector
crit: critical
cyc: cycle net
ex: expander exhaust
hp: heating and power
hw: hot water
ii: second law
in: expander internal
leak: expander leak
lhx: lower heat exchanger
max: maximum/peak
min: minimum
n: nominal
off: ORC stop
on: ORC start
org: organic uid stream
p: constant pressure
pinch: heat exchanger pinch point
prc: process hot water stream
rise: sun rise
sat: saturation
set: sun set
sh: shaft
sol: solar
st: solar store
stand: standing heat loss
su: expander supply
th: thermal
thr: throat
uhx: upper heat exchanger
v: volume property
w: isothermal envelope