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Abstract:In this study, the authors experimentally investigate the performance of the organic Rankine cycle (ORC) and screw expander under the influence of supply pressure and pressure ratio over the expander. Three tests were performed with expander pressure ratios of 2. 4-3.5, 3.0-4.6, and 3.3-6.1, which cover the over-expansion and under-expansion operating modes. The test results show a maximum expander isentropic efficiency of 72.4% and a relative cycle efficiency of 10.5% at an evaporation temperature of 101 °C and condensation temperature of 45 °C. At a given pressure ratio over the expander, a higher supply pressure to the expander causes a higher expander isentropic efficiency and higher cycle efficiency in the over-expansion mode. However, in the under-expansion mode, the higher supply pressure results in a lower expander isentropic efficiency and adversely affects the cycle efficiency. The results also show that under the condition of operation at a given pressure ratio, a higher supply pressure yields a larger power output owing to the increased mass flow rate at the higher supply pressure. The study results demonstrate that a screw-expander ORC can be operated with a wide range of heat sources and heat sinks with satisfactory cycle efficiency.

A frequent cause of turbomachinery blade failure is excessive resonant response. The most common excitation source is the nonuniform flow field generated by inlet distortion, wakes and/or pressure disturbances from adjacent blade rows. The standard method for dealing with this problem is to avoid resonant conditions using a Campbell diagram. Unfortunately, it is impossible to avoid all resonant conditions. Therefore, judgments based on past experience are used to determine the acceptability of the blade design. A new analysis system has been developed to predict blade forced response. The system provides a design tool, over and above the standard Campbell diagram approach, for predicting potential forced response problems. The incoming excitation sources are modeled using a semi-empirical rotor wake/vortex model for wake excitation, measured data for inlet distortion, and a quasi-three-dimensional Euler code for pressure disturbances. Using these aerodynamic stimuli, and the blade’s natural frequencies and mode shapes from a finite element model, the unsteady aerodynamic modal forces and the aerodynamic damping are calculated. A modal response solution is then performed. This system has been applied to current engine designs. A recent investigation involved fan blade response due to inlet distortion. An aero mechanical test had been run with two different distortion screens. The resulting distortion entering the fan was measured. With this as input data, the predicted response agreed almost exactly with the measured response. In another application, the response of the LPT blades of a counterrotating supersonic turbine was determined. In this case the blades were excited by both a wake and a shock wave. The shock response was predicted to be three times larger than that of the wake. Thus, the system identified a new forcing function mechanism for supersonic turbines. This paper provides a basic description of the system, which includes: (1) models for the wake excitation, inlet distortion, and pressure disturbance; (2) a kernel function solution technique for unsteady aerodynamics; and (3) a modal aeroelastic solution using strip theory. Also, results of the two applications are presented.

Using microturbine generator systems for distributed power generation has become the recent trend. To face the impact of the global energy crisis, one of the options is to use biofuels including biodiesel. To this end, this program is to perform study on biodiesel microturbine testing and analysis. A 150kW microturbine generator set with twin rotating disk regenerators was used. Designed as a vehicular microturbine engine, the twin rotating ceramic disk regenerators dramatically improve fuel consumption by transferring heat energy from the exhaust gas stream to compressor discharge. This paper involved testing of the microturbine generator set at different load conditions using 10%–30% biodiesel fuel. A software program was used to predict the performance of the microturbine generator set at different operating conditions in order to compare with the test results. Both biodiesel and petrodiesel fuels are used on the microturbine generator system in this study and the results will be compared.

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