The Development and Testing of a Dual-Entry Turbine Expander for ORC Applications

Abstract

Reducing the fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions of large commercial vehicles is a growing priority as governments around the globe introduce more stringent emissions regulations and as companies work to reduce their carbon footprint. Organic Rankine Cycles (ORC) can be applied to these vehicles to recover power from engine waste heat, thereby increasing efficiency and reducing fuel burn. However, the available waste heat consists of both high and low temperature sources making an efficient and cost-effective utilization of these resources challenging. In order to utilize both waste heat streams effectively, a single rotor, dual-entry turbine expander capable of accepting process flow simultaneously from high and low pressure supplies was developed, manufactured and tested. Test results show that the turbine concept was able to meet performance targets while decreasing the size, cost and complexity of the dual pressure ORC.