Working Fluid Distribution and Charge Regulation Control in Organic Rankine Cycle

Charge-based studies,in particular investigations of mass distribution,are still almost absent,although the efficiency of the organic Rankine cycle(ORC)has attracted a great deal of scholarly attention.This paper aims to provide a new perspective on the intrinsic relationship among the mass distribution,phase-zone distribution in the heat exchanger(HEX),charge of working fuid(WF),rotation speed of the pump(RSP),and system performance.A comprehensive ORC simulation model is presented by linking each component's sub-models,including the independent models for HEX,pump,and expander in an object-oriented fashion.The visualization study of mass distribution of the WF in the system is investigated under different working conditions.Furthermore,the volume and mass of the gas phase,two-phase and liquid phase of WF in the HEX and their variation rules are analyzed in-depth.Finally,the strategies of charge reduction considering HEX areas and pipe sizes are investigated.The results show that the model based on the interior-point method provides high levels of accuracy and robustness.The mass ratio of the WF is concentrated in the liquid receiver,especially in the regenerator,which is 32.9%and 21.9%of the total mass,respectively.Furthermore,2.4 kg(6.9%)WF in the system gradually migrates to the high-temperature side as the RSP increases while 6.1 kg(17.4%)WF migrates to the low-temperature side,especially to the condenser,as the charge in the system increases.Output power and efficiency both decrease gradually after the peak due to changes in RSP and charge.Last,reducing heat transfer areas of the condenser and regenerator is the most effective way to reduce WF charge.

Effect of Header Configuration on Refrigerant Distribution in Parallel Flow Microchannel Evaporators

The refrigerant flow distribution in the parallel flow microchannel evaporators is experimentally investigated to study the effect of header configuration.Six different configurations are tested in the same evaporator by installing insertion device and partition plate in the header to ensure the consistency of the other structure parameters.The results show that the uniformity of refrigerant flow distribution and the heat transfer rate are greatly improved by reducing the sectional area of header.The heat transfer rate can increase by 67.93%by reducing the sectional area of both inlet and outlet headers.The uniformity of refrigerant flow distribution and the heat transfer rate become worse after installing the partition plate in the insertion devices and changing the inner structure of the header further.