Solar-powered/fuel-assisted Rankine cycle power and cooling system: sensitivity analysis

Conference · Fri Jan 01 04:00:00 EST 1982 · Am. Soc. Mech. Eng., (Pap.); (United States)

OSTI ID:5459482

Lior, N; Koai, K

The subject of this analysis is a solar power/ cooling system based on a novel hybrid steam Rankine cycle. Steam is generated by the use of solar energy collected at about 100/sup 0/ C, and it is then superheated to about 600/sup 0/ C in a fossil-fuel fired superheater. The addition of about 20-26% of energy as fuel doubles the power cycle's efficiency as compared to organic Rankine cycles operating at similar collector temperatures. A sensitivity analysis of the system's performance to the size and type of its components was performed by a transient (hourly) computer simulation over the month of August in two representative climatic regions (Washington, DC, and Phoenix, AZ), and led to the description of a system configuration which provides optimal energy performance. The newly-designed turbine's predicted efficiency is seen to be essentially invariant with system configuration, and has a monthly average value of about 73%.

• Research Organization: Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
• OSTI ID: 5459482
• Report Number(s): CONF-821101-
• Conference Information: Journal Name: Am. Soc. Mech. Eng., (Pap.); (United States) Journal Volume: 82-WA/SOL-7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140901* -- Solar Thermal Utilization-- Space Heating & Cooling
COMPUTERIZED SIMULATION
CONFIGURATION
EFFICIENCY
ENERGY SOURCES
ENGINES
EQUIPMENT
FOSSIL FUELS
FUELS
HEAT ENGINES
HEATING
HYBRID SYSTEMS
MACHINERY
PERFORMANCE
RANKINE CYCLE
SENSITIVITY ANALYSIS
SIMULATION
SIZE
SOLAR COOLING SYSTEMS
SOLAR EQUIPMENT
SOLAR HEAT ENGINES
STEAM GENERATION
SUPERHEATING
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE
THERMODYNAMIC CYCLES
TRANSIENTS
TURBINES
TURBOMACHINERY