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CFD analysis of the influence of variable wall thickness on the aerodynamic performance of small scale ORC scroll expanders

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  • Emhardt, Simon
  • Tian, Guohong
  • Song, Panpan
  • Chew, John
  • Wei, Mingshan

Abstract

This research paper presents a CFD analysis of small scale ORC scroll expanders using variable and constant wall thicknesses by providing back-to-back aerodynamic performance comparisons. The evaluation of the three-dimensional and transient CFD results shows that the shorter scroll profile length of the variable wall thickness design (VWD) generated lower average radial and axial gas forces. In addition, higher pressure gradients in between individual working chambers contributed to a higher peak of the tangential gas moment despite higher transient gas force and tangential gas moment variations. Moreover, the pressure trace analysis reveals that the expansion process was finished at a crank angle of 816° in VWD, compared to 996° in the constant wall thickness design (CWD). The studies of the static pressure distributions along the surface of the fixed scroll of the two geometries indicate that static pressure drops through local radial clearances were higher in VWD. However, a higher number of static pressure drops occurred in CWD. The expansion process of CWD was driven by lower pressure gradients resulting in a complete dissipation of the large-scale vortices in the expansion chambers of CWD at the crank angle of 672°, in contrast to 600° in the expansion chambers of VWD.

Suggested Citation

  • Emhardt, Simon & Tian, Guohong & Song, Panpan & Chew, John & Wei, Mingshan, 2022. "CFD analysis of the influence of variable wall thickness on the aerodynamic performance of small scale ORC scroll expanders," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(PA).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:244:y:2022:i:pa:s0360544221028358
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.122586
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Oh, Jinwoo & Jeong, Hoyoung & Kim, Joonbyum & Lee, Hoseong, 2020. "Numerical and experimental investigation on thermal-hydraulic characteristics of a scroll expander for organic Rankine cycle," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
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    6. Ziviani, Davide & James, Nelson A. & Accorsi, Felipe A. & Braun, James E. & Groll, Eckhard A., 2018. "Experimental and numerical analyses of a 5 kWe oil-free open-drive scroll expander for small-scale organic Rankine cycle (ORC) applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 230(C), pages 1140-1156.
    7. Song, Panpan & Wei, Mingshan & Liu, Zhen & Zhao, Ben, 2015. "Effects of suction port arrangements on a scroll expander for a small scale ORC system based on CFD approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 274-285.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Zhang, Hong-Hu & Zhang, Yi-Fan & Feng, Yong-Qiang & Chang, Jen-Chieh & Chang, Chao-Wei & Xi, Huan & Gong, Liang & Hung, Tzu-Chen & Li, Ming-Jia, 2023. "The parametric analysis on the system behaviors with scroll expanders employed in the ORC system: An experimental comparison," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    3. Hou, Xiaochen & Ji, Deliang & Zhou, Dan & Gao, Haibo, 2023. "Simulation study and performance analysis of free piston linear generator (FPLG) used for ORC system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    4. Dan Dan & Yihang Zhao & Mingshan Wei & Xuehui Wang, 2023. "Review of Thermal Management Technology for Electric Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-38, June.
    5. Liu, Yaru & Wang, Lei & Ng, Bing Feng, 2024. "A hybrid model-data-driven framework for inverse load identification of interval structures based on physics-informed neural network and improved Kalman filter algorithm," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 359(C).
    6. Yuheng Du & Shuang Li & Michael Pekris & Wei Li & Guohong Tian, 2023. "Surrogate-Assisted Multi-Objective Optimisation of Transcritical Carbon Dioxide Scroll Expander Flank Clearance Based on Computational Fluid Dynamics," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(14), pages 1-19, July.

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