• Solar Energy
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• v.10 no.3
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• pp.35-45
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• 1990

An analytical equation to estimate the Rankine power cycle efficiency at maximum power for the given mass flow rates of heating and cooling fluids is derived. The accuracy of the result is shown by comparing the analytical values with those calculated one using detailed thermodynamic data. The results indicate that the thermal efficiency at maximum power depends primarily on the initial temperatures of the heating and cooling fluids, and it also depends on the pinch-temperature differences between the working fluid and the heating and cooling fluids. The efficiency at maximum power provides a measure of the power available in a practical Rankine heat engine.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.26 no.6
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• pp.590-599
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• 2015

In this paper a performance analysis is carried out based on the first and second laws of thermodynamics for heat exchanger in organic Rankine cycle (ORC) for the recovery of low-temperature finite thermal energy source. In the analysis, effects of the selection of working fluid and pinch temperature difference are investigated on the performance of the heat exchanger including the effectiveness of the heat exchanger, exergy destruction, second-law efficiency, number of transfer unit (NTU), and pinch point. The temperature distribution are shown depending on the working fluids and the pinch temperature difference. The results show that the performance of the heat exchanger depends on the pinch temperature difference sensitively. As the pinch temperature increases, the exergy destruction in the evaporator increases but the effectiveness, second law efficiency and NTU decreases.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.26 no.3
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• pp.278-286
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• 2015

This paper presents the analytical results of the thermodynamic performance characteristics for a cogeneration system using regenerative organic Rankine cycle (ORC) driven by low-grade heat source. The combined heat and power cogeneration system consists of a regenerative superheated ORC and an additional process heater in a series circuit. Eight working fluids of R134a, R152a, propane, isobutane, butane, R245fa, R123, and isopentane are considered for the analysis. Special attention is paid to the effect of turbine inlet pressure on the system performance such as thermal input, net power and useful heat productions, electrical, thermal, and system efficiencies. The results show a significant effect of the turbine inlet pressure and selection of working fluid on the thermodynamic performance of the system.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.223-231
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• 2011

The thermal efficiency of energy-to-power conversion becomes uneconomically low when the temperature of heat source drops below $370^{\circ}C$. ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) has attracted much attention in last few years due to its potential in reducing consumption of fossil fuels and relaxing environmental problems, and its favorable characteristics to exploit low-temperature heat sources. In this work thermodynamic performance of ORC using nine working fluids is comparatively assessed. Special attention is paid to the effect of system parameters such as turbine inlet temperature and pressure on the characteristics of the system such as volumetric flow rate and quality at turbine exit, latent heat, net work as well as thermal efficiency. Results show that in selection of working fluid it is required to consider various criteria of performance characteristics as well as the thermal efficiency. Results also show that the system efficiencies become same irrespective of kind of working fluid when the temperature of heat source decreases to low range.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2001.11b
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• pp.776-781
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• 2001

To enhance thermal efficiency of thermal facility through recovery of low and medium temperature waste heat, 1MW organic Rankine cycle system was designed and developed. The exhaust gases of $175^{\circ}C$ at two 100MW power plants in pohang steel works were selected as the representative of low and medium temperature waste heat in industrial process for the heat source of the organic Rankine cycle system. HCFC-123, a kind of harmless refrigerant, was chosen as the working fluid for Rankine cycle. The organic Rankine cycle system with selected exhaust gases and working fluid was designed and constructed. From the operation, it was confirmed that the organic Rankine cycle system is available for low and medium temperature waste heat recovery in industrial process. The optimum operating manuals, such as heat-up of hot water, turbine start-up, and the process of electric power generation, were derived. However, electric power generated was not 1MW as designed but only 670kW. It is due to deficiency of pump capacity for supply of HCFC-123. So it is necessary to increase the pump capacity or to decrease the pressure loss in pipe for more improved HCFC-123 supply.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.200-208
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• 2014

This paper presents thermodynamic performance analysis of organic Rankine cycle (ORC) using low temperature heat source in the form of sensible energy and using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as heat sink to recover the cryogenic energy of LNG. LNG is able to condense the working fluid at a very low condensing temperature in a heat exchanger, which leads to an increased power output. Based on the mathematical model, a parametric analysis is conducted to examine the effects of eight different working fluids, the turbine inlet pressure and the condensation temperature on the system performance. The results indicate that the thermodynamic performance of ORC such as net work production or thermal efficiency can be significantly improved by the LNG cold energy.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.521-529
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• 2012

Since the energy demand for refrigeration and air-conditioning has greatly increased all over the world, thermally activated refrigeration cycle has attracted much attention. This study carries out a performance analysis of a vapor compression cycle (VCC) driven by organic Rankine cycle (ORC) utilizing low-temperature heat source in the form of sensible heat. The ORC is assumed to produce minimum net work which is required to drive the VCC without generating an excess electricity. Effects of important system parameters such as turbine inlet pressure, condensing temperature, and evaporating temperature on the system variables such as mass flow ratio, net work production, and coefficient of performance (COP) are thoroughly investigated. The effect of choice of working fluid on COP is also considered. Results show that net work production and COP increase with increasing turbine inlet pressure or decreasing condensing temperature. Out of the five kinds of organic fluids considered $C_4H_{10}$ gives a relatively high COP in the range of low turbine inlet pressure.

• Transactions of the Korean hydrogen and new energy society
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.91-97
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• 2013

Recently a novel cycle named organic flash cycle (OFC) has been proposed which has improved potential for power generation from low-temperature heat sources. This study carries out thermodynamic performance analysis of OFC using various working fluids for recovery of low-grade heat sources in the form of sensible energy. Special attention is focused on the optimum flash temperature at which the exergy efficiency has the maximum value. Under the optimal conditions with respect to the flash temperature, the thermodynamic performances of important system variables including mass flow ratio, separation ratio, heat addition, specific volume flow rate at turbine exit, and exergy efficiency are thoroughly investigated. Results show that the exergy efficiency has a peak value with respect to the flash temperature and the optimum working fluid which shows the best exergy efficiency varies with the operating conditions.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Geothermal and Hydrothermal Energy
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.17-23
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• 2007

Geothermal energy is used in various forms, such as power generation, direct use, and geothermal heat pumps. High temperature geothermal energy sources have been used for power generation for more than a century. Recent technical advances in power generation equipments make relatively low temperature geothermal energy to be available for power generation. In these applications, lower temperature geothermal energy source makes smaller difference between condensing water temperature and it. Various condensing water temperatures were investigated in analyzing its influence on power generation performance. Condensing water temperature of organic Rankine cycle imposed greater influence on power generation and its performance in lower temperature geothermal power generation.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.39 no.7
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• pp.735-743
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• 2015

The major component with a significant impact on the thermodynamic efficiency of the organic Rankine cycle is the turbine. Many difficulties occur in the turbine design of an organic Rankine cycle because the expansion process in an organic Rankine cycle is generally accompanied by a dramatic change in the working fluid properties. A precise preliminary design for a radial inflow turbine is hard to obtain using the classic method for selecting the loading and flow coefficients from the existing performance chart. Therefore, this study proposed a method to calculate the loading and flow coefficient based on the number of rotor vanes and thermodynamic design requirements. Preliminary design results using the proposed models were in fairly good agreement with the credible results using the commercial preliminary design software. Furthermore, a numerical analysis of the preliminary design results was carried out to verify the accuracy of the proposed preliminary design models, and most of the dependent variables, with the exception of the efficiency, were analyzed to meet the preliminary design conditions.