IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v16y2023i14p5340-d1192701.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Impact of the Lubricant on a Modified Revolving Vane Expander (M-RVE) in an Organic Rankine Cycle System

Author

Listed:
  • Ali Naseri

    (Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand)

  • Ramin Moradi

    (Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G1 1XL, UK)

  • Luca Cioccolanti

    (Research Centre for Energy, Environment and Landscape, Università eCampus, Via Isimbardi 10, 22060 Novedrate, Italy)

  • Alison Subiantoro

    (Department of Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Auckland, Auckland 1010, New Zealand
    Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, Universitas Kristen Krida Wacana, Jakarta 11470, Indonesia)

Abstract

The expansion device is the critical component of micro-to-small scale organic Rankine cycle (ORC) systems, substantially affecting system efficiency and cost. Low isentropic efficiency and lubrication requirements are the main issues associated with using volumetric expanders in ORC systems. Despite lubrication contributing to reducing internal leakages in an expander, it may compromise the performance of the ORC system by adversely affecting the evaporator’s thermal capacity. This study tests a recently developed and modified revolving vane expander (M-RVE) in a micro-scale ORC test rig by implementing an adjustable oil mass flow rate. The impact of the lubricant oil on the performance of the M-RVE prototype is investigated within a wide range of oil circulation rates ( OCR ). The results demonstrate a negligible improvement in the filling factor for OCR s higher than 1%. Moreover, the shaft power is not considerably sensitive to OCR , while the calculated isentropic efficiency of the expander improves with OCR . Furthermore, the impact of the lubricant oil on the performance of the evaporator is studied, assuming the exact OCR as the expander and measured temperature and pressure similar to the pure refrigerant for the lubricant-refrigerant mixture in the evaporator. The study shows that the evaporator capacity is penalized with OCR , especially for values higher than 1%. Hence, an OCR of about 1% is a good compromise, and it can be used as a guideline for designing revolving vane expanders for micro-scale ORC systems without a dedicated lubricant oil circuit.

Suggested Citation

  • Ali Naseri & Ramin Moradi & Luca Cioccolanti & Alison Subiantoro, 2023. "Impact of the Lubricant on a Modified Revolving Vane Expander (M-RVE) in an Organic Rankine Cycle System," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-17, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:14:p:5340-:d:1192701
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/14/5340/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/14/5340/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Dumont, Olivier & Parthoens, Antoine & Dickes, Rémi & Lemort, Vincent, 2018. "Experimental investigation and optimal performance assessment of four volumetric expanders (scroll, screw, piston and roots) tested in a small-scale organic Rankine cycle system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 165(PA), pages 1119-1127.
    2. Fatigati, Fabio & Di Bartolomeo, Marco & Cipollone, Roberto, 2020. "On the effects of leakages in Sliding Rotary Vane Expanders," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    3. Yang, Jingye & Yu, Binbin & Ye, Zhenhong & Shi, Junye & Chen, Jiangping, 2019. "Experimental investigation of the impact of lubricant oil ratio on subcritical organic Rankine cycle for low-temperature waste heat recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    4. Zhou, Naijun & Wang, Xiaoyuan & Chen, Zhuo & Wang, Zhiqi, 2013. "Experimental study on Organic Rankine Cycle for waste heat recovery from low-temperature flue gas," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 216-225.
    5. Imran, Muhammad & Haglind, Fredrik & Asim, Muhammad & Zeb Alvi, Jahan, 2018. "Recent research trends in organic Rankine cycle technology: A bibliometric approach," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 552-562.
    6. Naseri, Ali & Norris, Stuart & Subiantoro, Alison, 2020. "Experimental investigation of a prototype semi-dry revolving vane expander: Design challenges and performance criteria," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    7. Campana, Claudio & Cioccolanti, Luca & Renzi, Massimiliano & Caresana, Flavio, 2019. "Experimental analysis of a small-scale scroll expander for low-temperature waste heat recovery in Organic Rankine Cycle," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    8. Lei, Biao & Wu, Yu-Ting & Wang, Wei & Wang, Jing-Fu & Ma, Chong-Fang, 2014. "A study on lubricant oil supply for positive-displacement expanders in small-scale organic Rankine cycles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 846-853.
    9. Naseri, Ali & Moradi, Ramin & Norris, Stuart & Subiantoro, Alison, 2022. "Experimental investigation of a revolving vane expander in a micro-scale organic Rankine cycle system for low-grade waste heat recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Naseri, Ali & Moradi, Ramin & Norris, Stuart & Subiantoro, Alison, 2022. "Experimental investigation of a revolving vane expander in a micro-scale organic Rankine cycle system for low-grade waste heat recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 253(C).
    2. Fabio Fatigati & Marco Di Bartolomeo & Davide Di Battista & Roberto Cipollone, 2020. "Experimental Validation of a New Modeling for the Design Optimization of a Sliding Vane Rotary Expander Operating in an ORC-Based Power Unit," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-23, August.
    3. Xiong, Yaxuan & Zhang, Aitonglu & Peng, Xiaodong & Yao, Chenhua & Wang, Nan & Wu, Yuting & Xu, Qian & Ma, Chongfang, 2023. "Investigation of a sole gas expander for gas pressure regulation and energy recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    4. Naseri, Ali & Norris, Stuart & Subiantoro, Alison, 2020. "Experimental investigation of a prototype semi-dry revolving vane expander: Design challenges and performance criteria," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    5. Murthy, Anarghya Ananda & Norris, Stuart & Subiantoro, Alison, 2022. "Experimental investigation of internal leakages and effects of lubricating oil on the performance of a four-intersecting-vane rotary expander," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PB).
    6. Lei, Biao & Yu, Hai-bin & Li, Guo-qiang & Wu, Yu-Ting & Wang, Wei, 2022. "Thermodynamic investigations on internal generator cooling for hermetic expanders in Organic Rankine Cycles," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 251(C).
    7. Moradi, Ramin & Habib, Emanuele & Bocci, Enrico & Cioccolanti, Luca, 2020. "Investigation on the use of a novel regenerative flow turbine in a micro-scale Organic Rankine Cycle unit," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    8. Yang, Jingye & Yu, Binbin & Ye, Zhenhong & Shi, Junye & Chen, Jiangping, 2019. "Experimental investigation of the impact of lubricant oil ratio on subcritical organic Rankine cycle for low-temperature waste heat recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    9. Dawo, Fabian & Eyerer, Sebastian & Pili, Roberto & Wieland, Christoph & Spliethoff, Hartmut, 2021. "Experimental investigation, model validation and application of twin-screw expanders with different built-in volume ratios," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(PA).
    10. Fatigati, Fabio & Di Bartolomeo, Marco & Cipollone, Roberto, 2024. "Model-based optimisation of solar-assisted ORC-based power unit for domestic micro-cogeneration," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 308(C).
    11. Li, Guoqiang & Lei, Biao & Wu, Yuting & Zhi, Ruiping & Zhao, Yingkun & Guo, Zhiyu & Liu, Guangyu & Ma, Chongfang, 2018. "Influence of inlet pressure and rotational speed on the performance of high pressure single screw expander prototype," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 279-285.
    12. Feng, Yupeng & Li, Yuzhong & Cui, Lin & Yan, Lifan & Zhao, Cheng & Dong, Yong, 2019. "Cold condensing scrubbing method for fine particle reduction from saturated flue gas," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 1193-1205.
    13. Li, Jian & Ge, Zhong & Duan, Yuanyuan & Yang, Zhen & Liu, Qiang, 2018. "Parametric optimization and thermodynamic performance comparison of single-pressure and dual-pressure evaporation organic Rankine cycles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 217(C), pages 409-421.
    14. Woodland, Brandon J. & Ziviani, Davide & Braun, James E. & Groll, Eckhard A., 2020. "Considerations on alternative organic Rankine Cycle congurations for low-grade waste heat recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 193(C).
    15. Davide Di Battista & Roberto Cipollone, 2023. "Waste Energy Recovery and Valorization in Internal Combustion Engines for Transportation," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-28, April.
    16. Du, Yuheng & Pekris, Michael & Tian, Guohong, 2023. "Influence of sealing cavity geometries on flank clearance leakage and pressure imbalance of micro-scale transcritical CO2 scroll expander by CFD modelling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    17. Jung, Hyung-Chul & Taylor, Leighton & Krumdieck, Susan, 2015. "An experimental and modelling study of a 1 kW organic Rankine cycle unit with mixture working fluid," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 601-614.
    18. Fabio Fatigati & Diego Vittorini & Yaxiong Wang & Jian Song & Christos N. Markides & Roberto Cipollone, 2020. "Design and Operational Control Strategy for Optimum Off-Design Performance of an ORC Plant for Low-Grade Waste Heat Recovery," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-23, November.
    19. Guido Francesco Frate & Lorenzo Ferrari & Umberto Desideri, 2020. "Rankine Carnot Batteries with the Integration of Thermal Energy Sources: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-28, September.
    20. Wang, Lingbao & Bu, Xianbiao & Li, Huashan, 2020. "Multi-objective optimization and off-design evaluation of organic rankine cycle (ORC) for low-grade waste heat recovery," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:16:y:2023:i:14:p:5340-:d:1192701. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.