IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v298y2021ics0306261921006875.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Cascade utilization of low-grade thermal energy by coupled elastocaloric power and cooling cycle

Author

Listed:
  • Qian, Suxin
  • Wang, Yao
  • Xu, Shijie
  • Chen, Yanliang
  • Yuan, Lifen
  • Yu, Jianlin

Abstract

Unlike the conventional elastocaloric cooling system that depends on electricity, the coupled elastocaloric power and cooling cycle proposed in this study exploits low-grade thermal energy in a cascade manner, which opens a new paradigm for the caloric cooling community. Cascade utilization of heat relies on a gradient of transition temperature inside the shape memory alloy actuator that best matches the temperature profile of the material during operation. A transient numerical model is developed to simulate the performance of this new system, and the model is experimentally validated. The transition temperature gradient should exceed 60 K for optimum utilization of input heat. At the same gradient, the distribution of transition temperature can be optimized, where at least 10% improvement over linear profile can be expected in terms of efficiency and cooling power density. Based on the superior performance, this technology could be powered by solar thermal collectors working at 110 °C and could be applied to residential air-conditioners and off-grid refrigerators. The novel system proposed in this study not only complements the existing library of heat-activated cooling technologies, but also provides a new pathway for the expansion of caloric cooling at large.

Suggested Citation

  • Qian, Suxin & Wang, Yao & Xu, Shijie & Chen, Yanliang & Yuan, Lifen & Yu, Jianlin, 2021. "Cascade utilization of low-grade thermal energy by coupled elastocaloric power and cooling cycle," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:298:y:2021:i:c:s0306261921006875
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117269
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261921006875
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117269?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Tan, Jianming & Wang, Yao & Xu, Shijie & Liu, Huaican & Qian, Suxin, 2020. "Thermodynamic cycle analysis of heat driven elastocaloric cooling system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    2. Qian, Suxin & Wang, Yao & Yuan, Lifen & Yu, Jianlin, 2019. "A heat driven elastocaloric cooling system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 881-899.
    3. Qian, Suxin & Yuan, Lifen & Yu, Jianlin & Yan, Gang, 2017. "Numerical modeling of an active elastocaloric regenerator refrigerator with phase transformation kinetics and the matching principle for materials selection," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 744-756.
    4. Luo, Huilong & Wang, Ruzhu & Dai, Yanjun, 2010. "The effects of operation parameter on the performance of a solar-powered adsorption chiller," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(10), pages 3018-3022, October.
    5. Xu, Jingyuan & Luo, Ercang & Hochgreb, Simone, 2020. "Study on a heat-driven thermoacoustic refrigerator for low-grade heat recovery," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    6. Agathokleous, R. & Barone, G. & Buonomano, A. & Forzano, C. & Kalogirou, S.A. & Palombo, A., 2019. "Building façade integrated solar thermal collectors for air heating: experimentation, modelling and applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C), pages 658-679.
    7. Buker, Mahmut Sami & Riffat, Saffa B., 2015. "Building integrated solar thermal collectors – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 327-346.
    8. Guarracino, Ilaria & Freeman, James & Ramos, Alba & Kalogirou, Soteris A. & Ekins-Daukes, Nicholas J. & Markides, Christos N., 2019. "Systematic testing of hybrid PV-thermal (PVT) solar collectors in steady-state and dynamic outdoor conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C), pages 1014-1030.
    9. Gao, Datong & Gao, Guangtao & Cao, Jingyu & Zhong, Shuai & Ren, Xiao & Dabwan, Yousef N. & Hu, Maobin & Jiao, Dongsheng & Kwan, Trevor Hocksun & Pei, Gang, 2020. "Experimental and numerical analysis of an efficiently optimized evacuated flat plate solar collector under medium temperature," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    10. Yang, Shiyu & Wan, Man Pun & Ng, Bing Feng & Dubey, Swapnil & Henze, Gregor P. & Chen, Wanyu & Baskaran, Krishnamoorthy, 2020. "Experimental study of model predictive control for an air-conditioning system with dedicated outdoor air system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 257(C).
    11. Qian, Suxin & Gluesenkamp, Kyle & Hwang, Yunho & Radermacher, Reinhard & Chun, Ho-Hwan, 2013. "Cyclic steady state performance of adsorption chiller with low regeneration temperature zeolite," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 517-526.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Qian, Suxin & Yao, Sijia & Wang, Yao & Yuan, Lifen & Yu, Jianlin, 2022. "Harvesting low-grade heat by coupling regenerative shape-memory actuator and piezoelectric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    2. Wang, Yao & Wang, Qianlong & Yu, Jianlin & Qian, Suxin, 2023. "A heat pump dual temperature display cabinet using natural refrigerants," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 330(PB).
    3. Žiga Ahčin & Parham Kabirifar & Luka Porenta & Miha Brojan & Jaka Tušek, 2022. "Numerical Modeling of Shell-and-Tube-like Elastocaloric Regenerator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-28, December.
    4. Zhang, Jiongjiong & Zhu, Yuxiang & Cheng, Siyuan & Yao, Shuhuai & Sun, Qingping, 2023. "Effect of inactive section on cooling performance of compressive elastocaloric refrigeration prototype," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 351(C).

    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. Žiga Ahčin & Parham Kabirifar & Luka Porenta & Miha Brojan & Jaka Tušek, 2022. "Numerical Modeling of Shell-and-Tube-like Elastocaloric Regenerator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-28, December.
    2. Lu, Zhen & Huang, Yuewu & Zhao, Yonggang, 2023. "Elastocaloric cooler for waste heat recovery from perovskite solar cell with electricity and cooling production," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    3. Han, Yuan & Lai, Cong & Li, Jiarui & Zhang, Zhufeng & Zhang, Houcheng & Hou, Shujin & Wang, Fu & Zhao, Jiapei & Zhang, Chunfei & Miao, He & Yuan, Jinliang, 2022. "Elastocaloric cooler for waste heat recovery from proton exchange membrane fuel cells," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PA).
    4. Han, Yuan & Zhang, Houcheng, 2022. "Potentiality of elastocaloric cooling system for high-temperature proton exchange membrane fuel cell waste heat harvesting," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 1166-1179.
    5. Tan, Jianming & Wang, Yao & Xu, Shijie & Liu, Huaican & Qian, Suxin, 2020. "Thermodynamic cycle analysis of heat driven elastocaloric cooling system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    6. Qian, Suxin & Yao, Sijia & Wang, Yao & Yuan, Lifen & Yu, Jianlin, 2022. "Harvesting low-grade heat by coupling regenerative shape-memory actuator and piezoelectric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    7. Ma, Liuyang & Zhao, Qin & Zhang, Houcheng & Hou, Shujin & Zhao, Jiapei & Wang, Fu & Zhang, Chunfei & Miao, He & Yuan, Jinliang, 2022. "Performance analysis of a concentrated photovoltaic cell-elastocaloric cooler hybrid system for power and cooling cogeneration," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PD).
    8. Vassiliades, C. & Agathokleous, R. & Barone, G. & Forzano, C. & Giuzio, G.F. & Palombo, A. & Buonomano, A. & Kalogirou, S., 2022. "Building integration of active solar energy systems: A review of geometrical and architectural characteristics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    9. Zhao, Qin & Li, Pengcheng & Zhang, Houcheng, 2024. "Dually boosting the performance of photovoltaic module via integrating elastocaloric cooler," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 295(C).
    10. Pang, Wei & Cui, Yanan & Zhang, Qian & Wilson, Gregory.J. & Yan, Hui, 2020. "A comparative analysis on performances of flat plate photovoltaic/thermal collectors in view of operating media, structural designs, and climate conditions," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    11. Mubarak Ismail & Metkel Yebiyo & Issa Chaer, 2021. "A Review of Recent Advances in Emerging Alternative Heating and Cooling Technologies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-24, January.
    12. Hu, Mingke & Guo, Chao & Zhao, Bin & Ao, Xianze & Suhendri, & Cao, Jingyu & Wang, Qiliang & Riffat, Saffa & Su, Yuehong & Pei, Gang, 2021. "A parametric study on the performance characteristics of an evacuated flat-plate photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) collector," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 884-898.
    13. Jongchansitto, P. & Yachai, T. & Preechawuttipong, I. & Boufayed, R. & Balandraud, X., 2021. "Concept of mechanocaloric granular material made from shape memory alloy," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(C).
    14. Solmuş, İsmail & Yamalı, Cemil & Yıldırım, Cihan & Bilen, Kadir, 2015. "Transient behavior of a cylindrical adsorbent bed during the adsorption process," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 115-124.
    15. Khani, M.S. & Baneshi, M. & Eslami, M., 2019. "Bi-objective optimization of photovoltaic-thermal (PV/T) solar collectors according to various weather conditions using genetic algorithm: A numerical modeling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 189(C).
    16. Luo, Rongrong & Wang, Liuwei & Yu, Wei & Shao, Feilong & Shen, Haikuo & Xie, Huaqing, 2023. "High energy storage density titanium nitride-pentaerythritol solid–solid composite phase change materials for light-thermal-electric conversion," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    17. Wu, Jinshun & Zhang, Xingxing & Shen, Jingchun & Wu, Yupeng & Connelly, Karen & Yang, Tong & Tang, Llewellyn & Xiao, Manxuan & Wei, Yixuan & Jiang, Ke & Chen, Chao & Xu, Peng & Wang, Hong, 2017. "A review of thermal absorbers and their integration methods for the combined solar photovoltaic/thermal (PV/T) modules," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 839-854.
    18. Evangelisti, Luca & De Lieto Vollaro, Roberto & Asdrubali, Francesco, 2019. "Latest advances on solar thermal collectors: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 1-1.
    19. Hissouf, Mohamed & Feddaoui, M’barek & Charef, Adil & Aftiss, Reda & Zabour, Khadija, 2024. "Assessment of the energy production of a hybrid PV/T collector based on different fluids for Agadir climate," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    20. Ma, Tao & Li, Meng & Kazemian, Arash, 2020. "Photovoltaic thermal module and solar thermal collector connected in series to produce electricity and high-grade heat simultaneously," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).

    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:eee:appene:v:298:y:2021:i:c:s0306261921006875. 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    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.