Simulation study on the flow field of guide vane and impeller of turbo expander

Abstract

Abstract In the face of the current energy shortage, organic Rankine cycle (ORC) technology is a way to make efficient use of energy, especially geothermal energy. As the core component of an ORC system, a turbo expander can achieve a high conversion efficiency for geothermal energy and has good development prospects. For low temperature geothermal energy such as 95°C water, R245fa could be chosen as the working fluid. Through preliminary thermal calculations and the MATLAB programming method, the main thermal performance parameters and the aerodynamic parameters, structural parameters, and three‐dimensional modeling of the guide vane and impeller were obtained. The design of the turbo expander was modeled and meshed by the Workbench module using the ANSYS software, and the internal flow path of the expander was numerically simulated by the CFX module. The results showed that there was a small range of wake loss at the trailing edge of the vane flow; impact loss and wake loss occurred at the leading and trailing edges of the impeller blades. At the 30% relative chord strength of the impeller, there was excessive expansion, resulting in a local low‐pressure area and a secondary flow from the hub to the rim.

Keywords

• flow field analysis
• geothermal energy
• organic Rankine cycle
• turbo expander