Optimization of Design Pressure Ratio of Positive Displacement Expander for Vehicle Engine Waste Heat Recovery

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of the built-in volume ratio of an expander on the performance of a dual-loop Rankine cycle system for the engine waste heat recovery of a vehicle. Varying vehicle operating conditions can cause a positive displacement expander to operate in both under- and over-expansion states. Therefore, analysis of the off-design performance of the expander is very important. Furthermore, the volume and weight of the expander must be considered in its optimization along with the efficiency. A simple modeling of the off-design operation of the expander showed that a built-in volume ratio that causes under-expansion rather than over-expansion at the target condition is more desirable.

Keywords

• engine waste heat recovery
• Rankine cycle
• expander
• under-expansion
• over-expansion
• expansion efficiency