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Title: Status report on diesel organic-Rankine compound engine for long-haul trucks

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5158722

A completely integrated compound engine, consisting of a diesel engine coupled to a Rankine engine, which operates on the exhaust heat from the diesel engine has been developed and demonstrated. The prototype compound engine is built around a standard Mack Truck diesel engine, and the waste heat recovery system is a Thermo Electron organic-Rankine bottoming cycle system incorporating a turbine expander delivering power to the diesel engine drive train. The most attractive use of the diesel organic-Rankine compound engine is in large, heavy-duty trucks for long-distance hauling. Here the engine load and speed requirements are nearly constant over a large portion of the operating hours, and high mileages are accumulated. Thus, the potential fuel savings is sufficient to justify the added cost of a bottoming cycle system. Based on engine dynamometer tests to date, the addition of an organic-Rankine bottoming cycle to a long-haul diesel truck can improve the fuel economy by 15% over a typical duty cycle. Utilizing a chassis-mounted dynamometer, baseline performance testing was completed on the compound engine installed in the truck. Checkout road tests were then completed at TECO prior to delivery of the truck to Mack Truck's Engineering Development and Test Center for further testing. Over 600 hours of endurance testing have been completed to date on a second compound engine installed on a facility dynamometer. Design of a new integrated power conversion unit is nearing completion and installation drawings are being prepared.

Research Organization:
Thermo Electron Corp., Waltham, MA (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-76CS52832
OSTI ID:
5158722
Report Number(s):
TE-4257-72-80; CONF-791082-2
Resource Relation:
Conference: DOE automotive technology development contractors coordination meeting, Dearborn, MI, USA, 23 Oct 1979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English