A high-efficiency solar rankine engine with isothermal expansion

Opubo N. Igobo; Philip A. Davies

doi:10.1093/ijlct/ctt031

A high-efficiency solar rankine engine with isothermal expansion

Opubo N. Igobo, Philip A. Davies^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Special issue › peer-review

Abstract

Though the principle of the solar Rankine cycle is well known, with several examples reported in the literature, there is yet a scarcity of engines that could be efficiently applied in small-scale (<100 KW) applications. Hence, this paper presents a variant of the engine that uses an isothermal expansion to achieve a theoretical efficiency close to the Carnot limit. Generation of steam inside the power cylinder obviates the need for an external boiler. The device is suitable for slow-moving applications and is of particular interest for driving a batch-desalination process. Preliminary experiments have shown cycle efficiency of 16%, and a high work ratio of 0.997.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	i27-i33
Number of pages	7
Journal	International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies
Volume	8
Issue number	Suppl.1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/ijlct/ctt031
Publication status	Published - 12 May 2013
Event	Heat Powered Cycles conference 2012 - Alkmaar, Netherlands Duration: 10 Sept 2012 → 12 Sept 2012

Bibliographical note

Heat Powered Cycles conference 2012 (HPC 2012), 10 Sep 2012 - 12 Sep 2012, Alkmaar, Netherlands

Keywords

rankine cycle
solar energy

Access to Document

10.1093/ijlct/ctt031

Cite this

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title = "A high-efficiency solar rankine engine with isothermal expansion",

abstract = "Though the principle of the solar Rankine cycle is well known, with several examples reported in the literature, there is yet a scarcity of engines that could be efficiently applied in small-scale (<100 KW) applications. Hence, this paper presents a variant of the engine that uses an isothermal expansion to achieve a theoretical efficiency close to the Carnot limit. Generation of steam inside the power cylinder obviates the need for an external boiler. The device is suitable for slow-moving applications and is of particular interest for driving a batch-desalination process. Preliminary experiments have shown cycle efficiency of 16%, and a high work ratio of 0.997.",

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AU - Igobo, Opubo N.

AU - Davies, Philip A.

N1 - Heat Powered Cycles conference 2012 (HPC 2012), 10 Sep 2012 - 12 Sep 2012, Alkmaar, Netherlands

PY - 2013/5/12

Y1 - 2013/5/12

N2 - Though the principle of the solar Rankine cycle is well known, with several examples reported in the literature, there is yet a scarcity of engines that could be efficiently applied in small-scale (<100 KW) applications. Hence, this paper presents a variant of the engine that uses an isothermal expansion to achieve a theoretical efficiency close to the Carnot limit. Generation of steam inside the power cylinder obviates the need for an external boiler. The device is suitable for slow-moving applications and is of particular interest for driving a batch-desalination process. Preliminary experiments have shown cycle efficiency of 16%, and a high work ratio of 0.997.

AB - Though the principle of the solar Rankine cycle is well known, with several examples reported in the literature, there is yet a scarcity of engines that could be efficiently applied in small-scale (<100 KW) applications. Hence, this paper presents a variant of the engine that uses an isothermal expansion to achieve a theoretical efficiency close to the Carnot limit. Generation of steam inside the power cylinder obviates the need for an external boiler. The device is suitable for slow-moving applications and is of particular interest for driving a batch-desalination process. Preliminary experiments have shown cycle efficiency of 16%, and a high work ratio of 0.997.

KW - rankine cycle

KW - solar energy

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DO - 10.1093/ijlct/ctt031

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AN - SCOPUS:84881114774

SN - 1748-1317

VL - 8

SP - i27-i33

JO - International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies

JF - International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies

IS - Suppl.1

T2 - Heat Powered Cycles conference 2012

Y2 - 10 September 2012 through 12 September 2012

ER -

A high-efficiency solar rankine engine with isothermal expansion

Abstract

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Keywords

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