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The condensing engine: a heat engine for operating temperatures of 100 C and below

The condensing engine: a heat engine for operating temperatures of 100 C and below
The condensing engine: a heat engine for operating temperatures of 100 C and below
The cost-effective utilisation of low-grade thermal energy with temperatures below 150 C for electricity generation still constitutes an engineering challenge. Existing technology, e.g. the organic Rankine cycle machines, are complex and only economical for larger power outputs. At Southampton University, the steam condensation cycle for a working temperature of 100 C was analysed theoretically. The cycle uses water as working fluid, which has the advantages of being cheap, readily available, non-toxic, non-inflammable and non-corrosive, and works at and below atmospheric pressure, so that leakage and sealing are not problematic. Steam expansion will increase the theoretical efficiency of the cycle from 6.4% (no expansion) to 17.8% (expansion ratio 1:8). In this article, the theoretical development of the cycle is presented. A 40 Watt experimental engine was built and tested. Efficiencies ranged from 0.02 (no expansion) to 0.055 (expansion ratio 1:4). The difference between theoretical and experimental efficiencies was attributed to significant pressure loss in valves, and to difficulties with heat rejection. It was concluded that the condensing engine has potential for further
development.
Low grade thermal energy, Renewable energy, , condensation
0957-6509
437-448
Muller, Gerald
f1a988fc-3bde-429e-83e2-041e9792bfd9
Chan, Chun Ho
045ae007-f7bb-4ca3-94b8-368b5f341209
Gibby, Alexander
940841ac-c773-47ef-af58-8767b0452a04
Tsuzaki, Toru
123b7101-03d4-4db3-96da-2226154b0520
Zahir, Muhammad Zubair
30185c23-49e1-4157-a492-a241ef19ca36
Paterson, James
8871566f-324d-4791-b0c1-76da30fe6fe5
Seetanah,, Joshuah
f78b93df-24c7-4d2c-a621-3ccc6ad23868
Telfer, Matthew
cf388b2a-cd87-43f7-9b59-3c612dbc50b6
Walker, Caleb
06add13d-3ae7-4a81-bb6d-73bb20a68218
Yusof, Faris
3cdd227b-f3d8-47b6-857a-36185cffad21
Muller, Gerald
f1a988fc-3bde-429e-83e2-041e9792bfd9
Chan, Chun Ho
045ae007-f7bb-4ca3-94b8-368b5f341209
Gibby, Alexander
940841ac-c773-47ef-af58-8767b0452a04
Tsuzaki, Toru
123b7101-03d4-4db3-96da-2226154b0520
Zahir, Muhammad Zubair
30185c23-49e1-4157-a492-a241ef19ca36
Paterson, James
8871566f-324d-4791-b0c1-76da30fe6fe5
Seetanah,, Joshuah
f78b93df-24c7-4d2c-a621-3ccc6ad23868
Telfer, Matthew
cf388b2a-cd87-43f7-9b59-3c612dbc50b6
Walker, Caleb
06add13d-3ae7-4a81-bb6d-73bb20a68218
Yusof, Faris
3cdd227b-f3d8-47b6-857a-36185cffad21

Muller, Gerald, Chan, Chun Ho, Gibby, Alexander, Tsuzaki, Toru, Zahir, Muhammad Zubair, Paterson, James, Seetanah,, Joshuah, Telfer, Matthew, Walker, Caleb and Yusof, Faris (2018) The condensing engine: a heat engine for operating temperatures of 100 C and below. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy, 232 (4), 437-448. (doi:10.1177/0957650917736455).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The cost-effective utilisation of low-grade thermal energy with temperatures below 150 C for electricity generation still constitutes an engineering challenge. Existing technology, e.g. the organic Rankine cycle machines, are complex and only economical for larger power outputs. At Southampton University, the steam condensation cycle for a working temperature of 100 C was analysed theoretically. The cycle uses water as working fluid, which has the advantages of being cheap, readily available, non-toxic, non-inflammable and non-corrosive, and works at and below atmospheric pressure, so that leakage and sealing are not problematic. Steam expansion will increase the theoretical efficiency of the cycle from 6.4% (no expansion) to 17.8% (expansion ratio 1:8). In this article, the theoretical development of the cycle is presented. A 40 Watt experimental engine was built and tested. Efficiencies ranged from 0.02 (no expansion) to 0.055 (expansion ratio 1:4). The difference between theoretical and experimental efficiencies was attributed to significant pressure loss in valves, and to difficulties with heat rejection. It was concluded that the condensing engine has potential for further
development.

Text
Muller et al post peer reviewed Sept 2017 - Accepted Manuscript
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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 6 October 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 19 October 2017
Published date: June 2018
Keywords: Low grade thermal energy, Renewable energy, , condensation

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 415216
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/415216
ISSN: 0957-6509
PURE UUID: 51312b02-bb3c-4a2a-95c2-96ab1c1f6060

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Date deposited: 02 Nov 2017 17:30
Last modified: 05 Jun 2024 17:47

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Contributors

Author: Gerald Muller
Author: Chun Ho Chan
Author: Alexander Gibby
Author: Toru Tsuzaki
Author: Muhammad Zubair Zahir
Author: James Paterson
Author: Joshuah Seetanah,
Author: Matthew Telfer
Author: Caleb Walker
Author: Faris Yusof

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