Study on waste heat recovery from exhaust gas spark ignition (S.I.) engine using steam turbine mechanism

Abstract

The issue of global warming has pushed the effort of researchers not only to find alternative renewable energy, but also to improve the machine’s energy efficiency. This includes the utilization of waste energy into ‘useful energy’. For a vehicle using internal combustion engine (ICE), the waste energy produce by exhaust gas can be utilize to ‘useful energy’ up to 34%. The energy from the automotive exhaust can be harness by implementing heat pipe heat exchanger in the automotive system. In order to maximize the amount of waste energy that can be turned to ‘useful energy’, the used of appropriate fluid in the heat exchanger is important. In this study, the fluid used is water, thus converting the fluid into steam and thus drive the turbine that coupling with generator. The paper will explore the performance of a naturally aspirated spark ignition (S.I.) engine equipped with waste heat recovery mechanism (WHRM) that used water as the heat absorption medium. The experimental and simulation test suggest that the concept is thermodynamically feasible and could significantly enhance the system performance depending on the load applied to the engine.