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240 T. Yamamoto et al. / Energy 26 (2001) 239251 240

Design and testing of the Organic Rankine Cycle

a,*
Takahisa Yamamoto , Tomohiko Furuhata b, Norio Arai b, Koichi Mori c

a
Department of Chemical Engineering, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan 464-8603
b
Research Center for Advanced Energy Conversion, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya, Japan 464-8603
c
Toyo Technica Co. Ltd., Sakae, Naka-ku, Nagoya, Japan 460-0008
Received 16 March 2000

Abstract

We propose a new type of environmentally friendly system called the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)
in which low-grade heat sources are utilized. This system combines a circulated thermosyphon with a
turbine system. The working fluid used in this study is an organic substance which has a low boiling point
and a low latent heat for using low-grade heat sources. A numerical simulation model of the ORC is made
in order to estimate its optimum operating conditions. An experimental apparatus is also made in this study.
From the numerical simulation, it is suggested that HCFC-123 gives higher turbine power than water which
is a conventional working fluid, and operating conditions where saturated vapor at the turbine inlet would
give the best performance. From the experimental results, HCFC-123 improves the cycle performance
drastically. In addition, the turbine made for trial use in this study gives good performance. 2001 Elsevier
Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Background

In recent years, accelerated consumption of fossil fuels has caused many serious environmental
problems such as global warming, ozone layer destruction and atmospheric pollution. New energy
conversion technologies are required to utilize energy resources suitable for power generation
without causing environmental pollution. Low-grade heat sources are considered as candidates
for the new energy sources. Solar heat, waste heat and geothermal energy are typical examples
for low-grade heat sources with their available temperatures ranging between 60 and 200C. The
use of such low-grade heat sources as an alternative energy source generating electricity has long
been investigated using power turbine cycles [16]. Little attention has been given to these sys-
tems because of the low thermal efficiency of the Rankine cycles which are operated at low
241 T. Yamamoto et al. / Energy 26 (2001) 239251 241

Nomenclature
Cp Isobaric specific heat capacity at each stage [kJ/kgK]
h Specific enthalpy at each stage [kJ/kg]
m Mass flow rate [kg/s]
n Rotation speed of turbine shaft [rpm]
Pin Turbine inlet pressure [MPa]
Pout Turbine outlet pressure [MPa]
Qin Evaporator input [kW]
Qout Condenser output [kW]
T Torque [Nm]
Tin Turbine inlet temperature [K]
Tout Turbine outlet temperature [K]
T1 Temperature at stage 1 [K]
T2 Temperature at stage 2 [K]
Wp Pump work [kW]
Wt Turbine output (numerical simulation) [kW]
Wt(exp) Turbine output (experiment) [W]
p Pressure ratio, Pin/Pout []
heff Effective efficiency of turbine [%]
hpump Pump efficiency [%]
ht Turbine efficiency [%]
g Specific heat ratio of working fluid at each state []
r Density at each stage [kg/m3]

temperatures. Such systems, however, have a simple structure at low cost, and existing techno-
logies are applicable.
We propose a new type of an environmentally friendly system called an Organic Rankine
Cycle (ORC) to utilize low-grade heat sources [7]. This system uses an organic substance as a
working fluid in order to utilize low-grade heat sources and consists of an evaporator (heating
area), a turbine and a condenser (cooling area). The features of this system are its small size,
no emissions of exhaust gases such as CO, CO2, NOX and other atmospheric pollutants. How-
ever, the most important feature is utilization of various kinds of heat sources when low-grade
heat sources are used for power generation. The working fluid is heated at the evaporator and
is converted into a high-pressure vapor. The vapor is changed into a low pressure vapor via the
turbine. At the same time, the thermal energy of the high pressure vapor is converted into
mechanical energy. Subsequently, the resultant mechanical energy is converted into electricity
via the generator which is connected to the turbine shaft. The vapor emerging from the turbine
outlet is fed to the condenser and then returns to the liquid phase. Generally, the turbine inlet
temperature (TIT), the pressure ratio in the turbine and the mass flow rate in the turbine inlet
are among the most important factors in the turbine system. In the conventional turbine systems,
TIT is increased to improve the turbine output. However, this is not the case when low-grade
242 T. Yamamoto et al. / Energy 26 (2001) 239251 242

Table 1
Thermal properties of working fluids

Working fluid Molecular Boiling point Liquid density Latent heat Specific heat
weight [K] [kg/m3] [kJ/kg] ratio

Water (H2O) 18.0 373.15 997.0 2257.00 1.33

HCFC-123 (CHCl2 152.9 300.85 1462.2 168.41 1.11
CF3)

heat sources are used. In addition, the thermal efficiency is low for Rankine cycles operating at
low temperatures. These are serious and difficult problems to overcome. Therefore, the organic
substance selected for the working fluid must have low latent heat and high density. Such
properties are preferable to increase the turbine inlet mass flow rate. Heretofore, we have selec-
ted the organic substance which is suitable for this system. Consequently, it has been determined
that HCFC-123 gives the best characteristics over other candidates such as water and methanol
[79].
In this study, an attempt to find the optimum conditions needed for the working fluid to yield
higher turbine output of ORC is discussed from a theoretical stand point. An experimental appar-
atus has also been made and tested. HCFC-123 and water are chosen as working fluids. Table 1
lists the thermal properties of these working fluids.

2. Numerical simulations

2.1. Numerical simulation model

In order to determine the optimum operating conditions, we have carried out a thermodynamic
analysis of the ORC using a process simulator HYSYS (Hyprotech Co., Canada). This simulator
is useful for thermodynamic analysis, especially steady state condition. The simulation flow dia-
gram is shown in Fig. 1. This simulation requires such conditions as the evaporator input, Qin,

Fig. 1. Simulation flow diagram.

243 T. Yamamoto et al. / Energy 26 (2001) 239251 243

the turbine inlet pressure Pin (P2) and the turbine outlet pressure Pout. The turbine inlet vapor is
set to be a superheated or a saturated phase. The working fluid passing through the condenser is
assumed to be a saturated liquid (T1, P1). The circulating mass flow rate (m) was determined by
the above conditions. The cycle efficiency is kept constant under the condition of each pressure
ratio (pPin/Pout). In this simulation, each phase of the working fluid is expressed by the equations
given below [10].
2.1.1. Pump phase (stages 12)
The circulation pump is the driving mechanism of the proposed system. The working fluid
(saturated liquid) leaving the condenser at low pressure P1 regains high pressure here to P2. The
working fluid is pumped back into the evaporator. The circulation pump Wp is calculated by the
following equation:
(P2P1pump
)m
Wp5 rh (1)

where r and hpump denote the density of working fluid (saturated condition) and the adiabatic
efficiency of the circulation pump, respectively. The specific enthalpy of the working fluid at the
circulation pump outlet, h2, is
h25h11Wp/m
(2)
where, h1 is the specific enthalpy of the working fluid at the circulation pump inlet.
2.1.2. Evaporator phase (stages 23)
The evaporator heats the working fluid at the pump outlet to the turbine inlet condition. Then
the working fluid is at superheated or saturated vapor state. The evaporator outlet condition of
the working fluid is given by the following equation:
hin5h21(Qin/m )
(3)
where Qin, hin and h2 are the evaporator input, the specific enthalpy at the evaporator inlet and
at the outlet, respectively.

Fig. 2. Effects of the evaporator input on turbine output for (a) HCFC-123 and (b) water.
 Fig. 3. Effects of TIT on the mass flow rate at the turbine inlet and output for (a) HCFC-123 and (b) water.

Fig. 4. Effects of the pressure ratio on cycle efficiency.

2.1.3. Turbine phase (stages 34)

The superheated or saturated vapor of the working fluid passes through the turbine to generate
mechanical power. After the vapor expands, it is depressurized by the turbine blades. The vapor
comes out of the turbine at lower pressure Pout and at low temperature Tout. Then, the turbine
output is given by:
1g
Wt5m CphtTin[12p g ]5m ht(hin2hout)
(4)

where Cp and Tin denote the isobaric specific heat capacity and the turbine inlet temperature,
respectively.
2.1.4. Condenser phase (stages 41)
The vapor of the working fluid goes through a constant pressure phase change process in the
condenser into a state of saturated liquid, rejecting the latent heat into the environment or the
condenser coolant. The pressure of the working fluid within the condenser is equal to the Rankine
cycle lower pressure, P1, and the temperature is equal to the saturation temperature of the press-
ure, P1. The condenser load, Qout, which is the rate of latent heat rejection from condensing
working fluid, can be calculated from the following equation;
Qout5m (hout2h1)
(5)

2.1.5. Cycle efficiency

Generally, various parameters are used to evaluate system performance, such as thermal
efficiency and the coefficient of performance (COP). In this study the thermal efficiency was
adopted for system evaluation. The cycle efficiency is calculated using the following equation.
W tW p
h5 3100 (6)
Qin

In fact, the pressure drops occur in the turbine and condenser processes, and the pressure rises
occur in the evaporator process. However, as explained above, the pressure rise occurs in the
circulation pump only, and the pressure drop occurs in the turbine only in order to be clear of
the thermodynamic analysis and the characteristics of the working fluids. Therefore this analysis
assumed steady state, no heat loss and pressure drop in the entire system. This means that the
temperature at the evaporator outlet is equal to that at the turbine inlet. The adiabatic efficiencies
of the turbine and the pump are both assumed to be 85%.

2.2. Numerical simulation results

Fig. 2 shows the dependence of the turbine output on the evaporator input under the saturated
vapor conditions at the turbine inlet. In the case of each working fluid, the turbine output increases
proportionally with the increase in the evaporator input. These results can be understood as fol-
lows. The turbine output is calculated by Eq. (4). As for this equation, turbine inlet temperature
Tin, pressure ratio p, specific heat ratio g and isobaric specific heat capacity Cp are constant, and
only the mass flow rate increases proportionally as the evaporator input increases. Accordingly
the relationship between the turbine output and the evaporator input is expressed as a straight
line. These simulation results tell us that HCFC-123 gives the best performance, even though the
ORC uses low-grade heat sources.
Fig. 3 shows the effects of TIT on the turbine inlet mass flow rate and the turbine output, while
the evaporator input is fixed at 12 kW. As for the case of water, the turbine output increases as
the mass flow rate decreases. Conversely, it only slightly decreases in the case of HCFC-123.
The reason for the decreased turbine output in the case of HCFC-123 is as follows. The latent
heat of HCFC-123 is about one-tenth of that of water. Thus, TIT and the turbine inlet mass flow
 Fig. 5. Schematic drawing of the experimental apparatus.

rate should be increased to raise the turbine output. In this simulation, however, TIT increases
as the mass flow rate decreases, or the mass flow rate increases as TIT decreases. It is therefore
understood that the turbine output decreases when the mass flow rate in the turbine inlet decreases
rapidly. If a working fluid with a low latent heat is used, the saturated vapor at the turbine inlet
would give the best operating conditions.
Fig. 4 presents the dependency of the pressure ratio on the cycle efficiency for both water and
HCFC-123. From the point of view of the actual system, these values of the cycle efficiencies
are not strict, because this analysis is only an ideal calculation. However, these results tell us the
characteristics of each working fluid and the effect of the pressure ratio. The cycle efficiency of
each working fluid increases as pressure ratio rises, and HCFC-123 has a higher efficiency com-
pared with water. Therefore raising the pressure ratio and HCFC-123 give us much higher sys-
tem performance.

3. Design and test of the experimental apparatus

3.1. Experimental apparatus and experimental conditions

We have made an experimental apparatus and tested it. Fig. 5 shows the schematic diagram
of the apparatus which consists of a tank, a circulation pump, an evaporator, a turbine and a
condenser. Electric heaters (10 kW2) are installed instead of the low-grade heat sources in the
 Fig. 6. Schematic drawing of (a) the micro-turbine and (b) the nozzle.

evaporator which heats the working fluid to saturated conditions. A shell and tube type heat
exchanger is used as a condenser. Water level sensors are installed in both the evaporator and
the tank. Thermocouples and pressure sensors are set up at the inlet and outlet of each unit. A
computer sums up data from these sensors, and controls the electric heaters and the circulation
pump as the water level of the evaporator is always constant from its base.
The turbine has not been developed at the low temperature mentioned above, using a large
density working fluid, until now. A micro-turbine and a nozzle are made in order to discuss the
optimum design of the turbine blade shape. Fig. 6 shows the schematic diagrams of the micro-
turbines and the nozzle. The turbine made from aluminum is radial type with 18 blades, 30 mm
in diameter and 4.5 mm thick. The nozzle is 46 mm in external diameter and 31 mm in inside
diameter. Fig. 7 shows the efficiency of this turbine which is a typical and useful parameter to
evaluate turbine performance in the design stage [11]. This parameter is calculated by means of
the turbine blade. The peak point of the diagram efficiency shifts to a higher rotation speed as
 Fig. 7. Diagram efficiency of the micro-turbine.

the pressure ratio rises. A turbine shaft is directly connected to both a tachometer and a torque-
meter. Then the turbine output is calculated as follows;
2pn
Wt(exp)5 T (7)
60
where n denotes the rotation speed of the turbine shaft which is measured by the tachometer,
and T denotes the turbine torque which is measured by the torque-meter. This study carried out
experiments with four conditions of the evaporator input (16.5, 17.3, 18.2, 19.9 kW) for water,
and three conditions of the evaporator input (9.7, 11.4, 13.0 kW) for HCFC-123. When the
rotation speed of the turbine shaft is stable, then measurements of temperature, pressure, torque,
rotation speed and volume flow rate at each point are started. We have evaluated the
performance of this apparatus using experimental data such as measured turbine output,
pressure, volume flow rate and temperature at the turbine inlet and outlet with each evaporator
input condition.

3.2. Experimental results

We have carried out the experiments using two kinds of working fluids, namely, HCFC-123
and water. This experimental apparatus has been tested for more than 6 h a day, for about 1
week, without any mechanical problems. Then maximum cycle efficiency was 1.25% in the case
of using HCFC-123.
Fig. 8 shows HCFC-123 and water temperatures, pressures and volume flow rates at the turbine
inlet and outlet, respectively. For both HCFC-123 and water, the temperature, pressure and volume
flow rate at the turbine inlet and outlet gradually increase. However, only turbine inlet pressure,
in the case of HCFC-123, increases rapidly because the latent heat of HCFC-123 (see Table 1)
is one-tenth that of water. HCFC-123 is able to run this system under low evaporator input con-
ditions, and it also shows a high performance compared with water. The turbine outlet volume
flow rate is larger than the turbine inlet for both working fluids. The main reason is an expansion
Fig. 8. (a) Temperature, (b) volume flow rate, and (c) pressure of the experimental data at the turbine inlet and outlet.

of the working fluid, when it passes through the turbine. In spite of the volume flow rate of
HCFC-123 being smaller than water, the maximum mass flow rates of HCFC-123 and water are
estimated to be 100 kg/h and 18 kg/h, respectively.
Figs. 9 and 10 show the characteristics of turbine output when the working fluids are water
and HCFC-123, respectively. For both cases, there are optimum operating conditions in the
relationship between the turbine output and the rotation speed. These optimum operating con-
ditions shift to a higher rotation speed as the evaporator input rises. In the case of water with an
evaporator input of 19.9 kW, the maximum rotation speed and the turbine output are 45,000 rpm
and 150 W, respectively. As for HCFC-123, when the evaporator input is 13.0 kW, the maximum
rotation speed and the turbine output are 35,000 rpm and 150 W, respectively.
The turbine performance is discussed by means of the experimental results and process simu-
lator. In order to evaluate the turbine, this study focuses effective efficiency heff which is calcu-
lated as the following equation:
heff5Wt(exp)/Wt (8)
where Wt denotes theoretical turbine output which is calculated using both experimental data and
Eq. (4). Fig. 11 shows the characteristics of effective efficiency. In the case of using water, the
effective efficiency gradually decreases as evaporator input rises. However, it increases in the
Fig. 9. Characteristics of the micro-turbine in the case of water [evaporator input: (a) 16.5 kW, (b) 17.3 kW, (c) 18.2
kW, (d) 19.9 kW].

case of HCFC-123. This is the reason why the volume flow rate of water is three times as large
as that of HCFC-123. Thus, in the case of using water, friction loss may be dominant when the
working fluid goes through the turbine. From the above results, HCFC-123 improves the cycle
performance drastically. The turbine made for trial use has good performance under the conditions
using HCFC-123.
Fig. 10. Characteristics of the micro-turbine in the case of HCFC-123 [evaporator input: (a) 9.7 kW, (b) 11.4 kW,
(c) 13.0 kW].

4. Conclusions

The performance and characteristics of the closed type Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) using
working fluids such as HCFC-123 and water have been investigated theoretically and experimen-
tally in this study. From the numerical simulations, it is apparent that for optimum operating
conditions of water, increasing the turbine inlet temperature gives high turbine power. Conversely,
the best operating conditions for HCFC-123 exist when the turbine inlet temperature is as low as
possible above the boiling point of the working fluid. If a working fluid with a low latent heat
is used, the saturated vapor at the turbine inlet would give the best operating condition. From the
 Fig. 11. Effective efficiency of the micro-turbine [(a) HCFC-123, (b) water].

experiments, there are optimum operating conditions between the rotation speed and the turbine
output. In addition, it is demonstrated that HCFC-123 improves the cycle performance drastically.
The turbine made for trial use in this study gives good performance under the conditions for
HCFC-123.
It may be concluded from the above, that the ORC can be applied to low-grade heat sources
and HCFC-123 is able to improve the ORC performance significantly.