Effect of Evaporation and Condensation Temperature on Performance of Organic Rankine System Using R134a, R417A, R422D, R245fa

Abstract

Organic Rankine Cycles (ORCs) are identified as one of the most promising technologies for generating electricity from low-grade heat sources. Unlike conventional Rankine cycles, ORCs operate at lower temperatures and pressures. This allows them to utilize organic fluids or refrigerants as the working fluid instead of water, which is better suited for high-pressure and high-temperature applications. The performance and design of an ORC system are heavily dependent on the chosen working fluid. Therefore, selecting the right working fluid is crucial for a specific application, such as solar thermal, geothermal, or waste heat recovery. This study analyzed the performance of ORCs using four different working fluids: R-134a, R-245fa, R417A, and R422D. The researchers investigated how variations in condensation and evaporation temperatures affect thermal efficiency, mass flow rate, pump power, and turbine pressure ratio. The Engineering Equation Solver (EES) program was used for analyses. The results demonstrated that condensation and evaporation temperatures significantly influence system performance. The study found that ORC systems using R417A and R422D exhibited higher efficiencies compared to the other working fluids analyzed. Additionally, these fluids required lower mass flow rates per unit of power generation compared to the other fluids.

Keywords

• Organic Rankine Cycle
• Working fluids
• Performance

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