Energy Conversion and Management 76 (2013) 234–243

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Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Analysis of regenerative dual-loop organic Rankine cycles (DORCs)

used in engine waste heat recovery
Gequn Shu, Lina Liu, Hua Tian, Haiqiao Wei ⇑, Youcai Liang
State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin University, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Keywords: In this paper, three regenerative dual-loop organic Rankine cycle (DORC) systems are proposed to com-
Regenerative dual-loop organic Rankine pare with the simple DORC system. Waste heat of the exhaust, engine coolant and residual heat of the HT
cycle loop are recovered in these four systems. In the HT loop, water and siloxane are chosen as working fluid
Transcritical cycle
candidates, transcritical cycle and subcritical cycle are evaluated. In the LT loop, R143a is used as the
Subcritical cycle
working fluid and transcritical cycle is adopted. Net output power and exergy efficiency are selected as
Irreversibility
Performance optimization objective functions. Based on the engine data and mathematic model, operating parameters are opti-
mized and component irreversibility is analyzed. Results show that low condensation temperature of
the HT loop is beneficial to performance optimization. The inlet temperature of turbine THT should be high
for wet fluids in subcritical cycle and low for dry fluids in both subcritical and transcritical cycles. Max-
imum net output power and exergy efficiency are obtained when water is used as the working fluid of the
HT loop and no regenerator is adopted in the system. Corresponding values are 39.67 kW and 42.98%.
When siloxane is used as the working fluid of the HT loop, DORC with double regenerators performs bet-
ter. For all systems evaluated, irreversibilities of condenser CLT and turbine TLT are large.
Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction grade engine coolant waste heat. Therefore, designing dual-loop

As energy crisis and environment pollution are increasingly se-
vere, many technologies have been proposed to save energy and
reduce emission in the field of internal combustion engine (ICE)
[1], which is main consumer of fossil fuel. Among these technolo-
gies, organic Rankine cycle (ORC) is an effective one because of its
flexibility, economy and good thermal performance [2–4]. Vaja
[5,6], Ringer et al. [7], Teng et al. [8–10], and Srinivasan et al.
[11] designed various single-stage ORC systems, among which pre-
heated cycle and regenerative cycle were preferable because in
these cycles working fluid could match better with the heat source
in the evaporator. Whereas, in existing single-stage systems, the
coupling of high-temperature exhaust and low-decomposition-
temperature organic working fluid was dominant issue to be set-
tled. Waste of the exhaust residual heat and little utilization of en-
gine coolant waste heat were another two issues. Because the
exhaust temperature after one heat exchange was still rather high
and direct rejection would result in great waste. In addition, in sin-
gle-stage preheated ORCs, the engine coolant and exhaust were in
large temperature difference, resulting in little utilization of low-
⇑ Corresponding author. Address: State Key Laboratory of Engines, Tianjin
University, No. 92, Weijin Road, Nankai Region, Tianjin 300072, China. Tel./fax:
+86 022 27402609.
E-mail address: whq@tju.edu.cn (H. Wei).
ORCs (DORCs) is significant; whereas, there is little knowledge
presently.
In order to utmostly optimize system performance, selections of
cycle mode (subcritical cycle or transcritical cycle) and working
fluid are important. In subcritical low-temperature ORCs, perfor-
mance improvement is limited by the pinch point problem in con-
stant-temperature heating process of the working fluid, which
results in a mismatch between the working fluid with the heat
source [4,12–14]. Therefore, transcritical cycle is better for low-
temperature ORCs, in which R125, R143a and R218 are mainly
used as working fluids presently [15–17]. For high-temperature
ORCs, cycle mode is limited by working fluid’s decomposition tem-
perature. Water and siloxanes are mainly used in existing high-
temperature ORCs [15,18,19]. As the critical pressure of water is
very high, subcritical cycle is mostly adopted [20]. In addition,
regenerators can decrease energy waste in the condenser and
make the working fluid match better with the heat source in the
evaporator, which can enhance system performance [21,22].
Therefore, working fluid and cycle mode selection and study of
regenerators’ influence is of great significance.
In this paper, three regenerative DORC systems are proposed to
compare with simple DORC system which is without regenerators
(system N). The system with a regenerator in the HT loop is named
system HT. The system with a regenerator in the LT loop is named
system LT. The system with double regenerators (one in the HT

0196-8904/$ - see front matter Ó 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2013.07.036
 G. Shu et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 76 (2013) 234–243 235

Nomenclature

cp constant-pressure specific heat (kJ/kg K) g exhaust

E exergy (kW) j component j
h specific enthalpy (kJ/kg) p pump
I exergy destruction or loss (kW) r regenerator
m mass flow rate (kg/s) s system
W work consumed or output (kW) t turbine
Q heat injected or rejected (kW) w engine coolant
s specific entropy (kJ/kg) in come in
P pressure (MPa) ec energy conversion
T temperature (K) evp evaporation
net net output
Greek letters out leave out
g efficiency cond condensation
dT temperature increment of regenerator (K) HT high temperature loop
LT low temperature loop
Subscripts mf,HT means the working fluid mass flow rate of the HT loop
c supplied cooling water Irege,HT means the exergy destruction of regenerator in the HT
loop
e exergy
f working fluid

loop and the other one in the LT loop) is named system D. In DORC ical thermodynamic processes: non-isentropic pumping process,
systems, a high-temperature (HT) loop and a low-temperature (LT) isobaric heating process, non-isentropic expansion process, regen-
loop are contained. The HT loop uses high-decomposition-temper- eration process and isobaric condensing process. Corresponding
ature working fluid to recover high-temperature part of exhaust thermodynamic processes of these two loops are shown in detail
waste heat to settle the coupling issue of exhaust and organic in Table 1. The total heating process of the LT loop (process 6s–9)
working fluid, guaranteeing system safety. The LT loop uses tradi- comprises of three evaporation processes: process 6s–7, process
tional organic working fluid to recover low-grade engine coolant 7–8 and process 8–9.
waste heat and low-temperature part of exhaust waste heat. In Now take the HT loop as an example to describe the thermody-
addition, residual heat of the working fluid at the turbine outlet namic processes. Low-pressure saturated liquid is pumped into
in the HT loop (i.e. residual heat of the HT loop) is also low-and- high pressure by the pump (non-isentropic pumping process)
medium grade, which is also completely recovered in the LT loop. and then flows into the regenerator to be preheated by the low-
In the LT loop, these three heat sources are in smaller temperature pressure vapor out of the turbine (regeneration process). The
difference, resulting in the enhancement of engine coolant waste working fluid then flows into the evaporator to be heated into a
heat’s utilization. The exhaust also goes through two heat ex- superheated or saturated vapor (isobaric heating process). The
changes and final outlet temperature lowers, resulting in more
complete utilization. In these four systems, three cycle modes are
evaluated. The LT loop stays same in all modes, in which R143a
is used as the working fluid and transcritical cycle is adopted.
Whereas, the HT loops of these modes are different. Mode 1 adopts
a subcritical cycle, in which water is used as the working fluid.
Mode 2 also adopts a subcritical cycle, in which siloxane is used
as the working fluid. Mode 3 adopts a transcritical cycle, in which
siloxane is used as the working fluid. Net output power and exergy
efficiency are chosen as objective functions to evaluate the perfor-
mance of all systems and cycle modes. Influences of operating
parameters and component irreversibility are also evaluated.

2. System description

2.1. Bottoming DORC

Take system D as an example to describe the configuration and

thermodynamic processes of the system, which are shown in
Figs. 1–3. The HT loop consists of an exhaust evaporator (EHT), a
turbine (THT), a regenerator (RHT), a condenser (CHT) and a pump
(PHT). The LT loop consists of three evaporators (E1,LT, E2,LT and
E3,LT), a turbine (TLT), a regenerator (RLT), a condenser (CLT) and a
pump (PLT). These three evaporators in the LT loop are driven by
the engine coolant, residual heat of the HT loop and low-tempera-
ture exhaust, respectively. These two loops are coupled through
the condenser of the HT loop (CHT), which is also the second evap-
orator of the LT loop (E2,LT). These two loops both include five typ- Fig. 1. Configuration diagram.
236 G. Shu et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 76 (2013) 234–243

Fig. 2. T–s diagram of the HT loop.

Table 2
Main engine parameters.

Parameter Value Unit

Engine power output 235.8 kW
Engine efficiency 41.81% /
Exhaust temperature 792.2 K
Engine coolant temperature 356.5 K
Exhaust mass flow rate 0.275 kg/s

fluid goes through three heat exchange in evaporators E1,LT, E2,LT

and E3,LT. The other one is that in the condenser of the HT loop
(CHT), the working fluid of the HT loop is condensed by the working
fluid of the LT loop, whereas, in the condenser of the LT loop (CLT),
the working fluid is condensed by supplied cooling water.

2.2. Topping ICE

In this study, a turbocharged diesel engine is used as the top-

Fig. 3. T–s diagram of the LT loop. ping system, whose main parameters are shown in Table 2. Assum-
ing that the fuel is in perfect combustion, the composition of the
Table 1
exhaust is then obtained: CO2 = 15.2%, H2O = 6.0%, N2 = 73.0%,
Thermodynamic processes of both loops.
O2 = 5.8%. The exhaust temperature of all heating processes should
HT loop LT loop be over 393 K [5,23], which is assumed as the temperature at the
Non-isentropic pumping Process 5–1 Process 11–6 acid dew point for the exhaust.
process
Isobaric heating process Process 1s–3 Process 6s–9 3. Mathematic model
(Process 6s–7 + Process 7–8 +
Process 8–9)
In order to simplify the computation, some assumptions should
Non-isentropic expansion Process 3–4 Process 9–10
process be presented before establishing the mathematic model [2,5,6,23–
Regeneration process Process 4–4s/ Process 10–10s/6–6s 25]: (1) Each component is in steady state. (2) Pressure drops and
1–1s heat losses in each component and each pipe are neglected. (3) Ki-
Isobaric condensing Process 4s–5 Process 10s–11 netic and potential energy are ignored. (4) Isentropic efficiencies of
process
pumps and turbines are 0.8 and 0.75; condensation temperature of
the LT loop is 308 K; pinch point temperatures of gas–liquid heat
vapor then delivers to the turbine to export mechanical work by exchangers (evaporator EHT and E3,LT) and liquid–liquid heat
expansion (non-isentropic expansion process) and lowers its pres- exchangers (evaporator E1,LT and E2,LT) are 30 K and 5 K; regenera-
sure. The low-pressure vapor flows into the regenerator to preheat tive rates of regenerators are not more than 80%.
the working fluid out of the pump, as mentioned above (regenera-
tion process). Finally, the working fluid delivers to the condenser to 3.1. Energy model
be completely liquefied (isobaric condensing process). An entire
cycle is finished. The thermodynamic processes of the LT loop are Based on the first thermodynamic law, energy analysis is con-
similar to those of the HT loop and there are two differences be- ducted [26–28].
tween them. One is that in the HT loop, the working fluid goes In the HT loop:
through only one heat exchange driven by the high-temperature Pump PHT: In pumps, the working fluid goes through a non-isen-
exhaust in evaporator EHT, whereas, in the LT loop, the working tropic pumping process (Process 5–1). The ideal outlet of pump PHT
 G. Shu et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 76 (2013) 234–243 237

after isentropic pumping is point 1’. Given that practical energy – Case with system LT /Case with system D:
transformation efficiencies of pumps never reach 100%, the calcu- Q w ¼ mf ;LT  ðh7  h6s Þ ¼ mw  cpw  ðT D  T E Þ ð17Þ
lation are shown as follows:
Evaporator E3,LT:
s10 ¼ s5 ð1Þ
Q g;LT ¼ mf ;LT  ðh9  h8 Þ ¼ mg  cpg;LT  ðT B  T C Þ ð18Þ
h10  h5 Turbine TLT:
h1 ¼ h5 þ ð2Þ
gp;HT
W t;LT ¼ mf ;LT  ðh9  h10 Þ ð19Þ
W p;HT ¼ mf ;HT  ðh1  h5 Þ ð3Þ Condenser CLT:

Regenerator RHT: In regenerators, they are calculated according

– Case with system N/Case with system HT:
to energy conservation. The thermodynamic process is process
1–1s–4–4s. Q c ¼ mf ;LT  ðh10  h11 Þ ¼ mc  cpw  ðT G  T F Þ ð20Þ
h4  h4s ¼ h1s  h1 ð4Þ
– Case with system LT /Case with system D:
Q c ¼ mf ;LT  ðh10s  h11 Þ ¼ mc  cpw  ðT G  T F Þ ð21Þ
T 4  T 4s
6 80% ð5Þ
T4  T1 Evaporator E2,LT is also Condenser CHT, as shown in Eqs. (12) and
(13).
Q r;HT ¼ mf ;HT  ðh4  h4s Þ ¼ mf ;HT  ðh1s  h1 Þ ð6Þ Then the total net output power generated and the whole en-
ergy conversion efficiency of the system are obtained:
wherein, the left function of Eq. (5) is defined as regenerative rate.
Evaporator EHT: The heat exchange process in evaporator is calcu- W net ¼ W t;HT þ W t;LT  W p;HT  W p;LT ð22Þ
lated with the pinch point temperature difference method [5,29].
W net
gec ¼ ð23Þ
– Case with system N/Case with system LT: Q g;HT þ Q g;LT þ Q w

Q g;HT ¼ mf ;HT  ðh3  h1 Þ ¼ mg  cpg;HT  ðT A  T B Þ ð7Þ

– Case with system HT /Case with system D:
Q g;HT ¼ mf ;HT  ðh3  h1s Þ ¼ mg  cpg;HT  ðT A  T B Þ ð8Þ
Turbine THT: In turbines, the working fluid goes through a non-
isentropic expansion process (process 3–4). Ideal outlet of turbine
THT is point 4’. With pre-fixed turbine THT’s isentropic efficiency
(gt,HT), determination of state points during this process can be
then obtained and output power can be calculated.
s40 ¼ s3 ð9Þ
3.2. Exergy model
As irreversibility occurs in all processes, exergy analysis is nec-
essary to be carried out based on the second thermodynamic law.
Before establishing the model, exergy at any state i should be first
defined [11,21,30,31]:
Ei ¼ m  ½ðhi  h0 Þ  T 0  ðsi  s0 Þ ð24Þ
Wherein, the subscript 0 refers to the ambient condition.
Exergy destruction in each component j can be modeled:

h4 ¼ h3  ðh3  h40 Þ  gt;HT ð10Þ Ij ¼ Ein;j  Eout;j ð25Þ

The subscript j means each component; the subscripts in and out
W t;HT ¼ mf ;HT  ðh3  h4 Þ ð11Þ mean the exergy coming in and leaving out the component j.
Exergy loss of the exhaust when being delivered into the ambi-
Condenser CHT: In it, the working fluid of the HT loop goes
ent is:
through a condensing process and the working fluid of the LT loop
goes through a heating process. The pinch point temperature dif- Ig ¼ EC ð26Þ
ference method is also adopted.
Total exergy input in the system is:
– Case with system N/Case with system LT: Ein;s ¼ EA þ ðED  EE Þ þ W p;HT þ W p;LT ð27Þ

Q f ;HT ¼ mf ;LT  ðh8  h7 Þ ¼ mf ;HT  ðh4  h5 Þ ð12Þ Then the exergy efficiency for power production is defined as:
W t;HT þ W t;LT
– Case with system HT/Case with system D: ge ¼ ð28Þ
Q f ;HT ¼ mf ;LT  ðh8  h7 Þ ¼ mf ;HT  ðh4s  h5 Þ ð13Þ Ein;s

In the LT loop: The thermodynamic processes and definition of each

state point are similar to those of the HT loop shown above. 4. Validation
Pump PLT:
The model is verified with same operating parameters for same
W p;LT ¼ mf ;LT  ðh6  h11 Þ ð14Þ
system in Ref. [23] to validate analyses and results. Present results
Regenerator RLT: are in good agreement with those in Ref. [23], as shown in Table 3.
Table 3 shows the comparison of energy loads in components be-
Q r;LT ¼ mf ;LT  ðh10  h10s Þ ¼ mf ;LT  ðh6s  h6 Þ ð15Þ
tween Ref. [23] and present study. These small discrepancies are
Evaporator E1,LT: mainly due to the difference of the software used. Matlab Software
and EES (Equation Evaluation Solution) are respectively used in Ref.
– Case with system N/Case with system HT: [23] and present study to calculate the mathematic model. Matlab
Software uses REFPROP [32] to evaluate fluid properties and EES
Q w ¼ mf ;LT  ðh7  h6 Þ ¼ mw  cpw  ðT D  T E Þ ð16Þ (Equation Evaluation Solution) [33] evaluates fluid properties by
its built-in physical functions.
238 G. Shu et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 76 (2013) 234–243

Table 3 Table 4
Comparison between present results and those in Ref. [23]. Other operating parameters when evaluating regenerators.

Ref. [23] Present D [%] Pevp,HT (MPa) Pevp,LT (MPa) Tcond,HT (K) T3 (K)
Pump 1 1.277 1.291 1.0963 System HT
Evaporator 1 133.58 133.6 0.015 Mode 1 3 4.05 385 648
Expander 1 10.851 10.82 0.286 Mode 2 1.3 4.05
Preheater 124 124.1 0.0806 Mode 3 3 4.07
Pump 2 2.675 2.673 0.075 System LT
Evaporator 2 241.24 241.1 0.058 Mode 1 3 4.04 385 648
Expander 2 29.064 29.04 0.083 Mode 2 1.3 3.94
Condenser 338.86 338.8 0.018 Mode 3 9.5 3.95
System D
Mode 1 3 3.82 385 648
5. Results and discussion Mode 2 1.3 3.93
Mode 3 3 3.95

Based on the thermodynamic model and assumptions, different

systems and modes are evaluated. Influence of operating parame-
ters and component irreversibility are also analyzed. Net output
power and exergy efficiency are chosen as objective functions.
5.1. Influence of operating parameters
5.1.1. Regenerator
Fig. 4 shows the variation of net output power (Wnet) and exergy
efficiency (ge) with the temperature increment of regenerator RHT
(dTHT) in system HT with different modes. Temperature increment
of regenerator RHT (dTHT) is defined as the temperature difference
between the outlet and inlet of regenerator RHT at pump PHT side
and is calculated as: dTHT = T1s  T1. Operating parameters are
shown in Table 4. With the increase of dTHT, Wnet and ge both in-
crease. Because the addition of regenerator RHT increases the work-
ing fluid inlet temperature of evaporator EHT (T1s) and decrease the
inlet temperature of the working fluid of the HT loop in condenser
CHT (T4s). Thus temperature differences in these two components
decrease, meaning that working fluids match better with heat
sources. More Wnet and bigger ge are then obtained. Therefore, with
the increment of dTHT, the decrease extent of temperature differ-
ences enhances, system performance improves more greatly. For
mode 1, given small range of dTHT, the addition of regenerator
RHT is of little effect on performance improvement. Whereas,
ranges of dTHT for the other two modes are wide, which improve
system performance more greatly. Take 10 K as an increment step
of dTHT, Wnet and ge averagely increase (0.01 kW, 0.01%), (0.145 kW,
0.14%), and (0.184 kW, 0.18%) for mode1, mode 2 and mode 3.
Fig. 5 shows the variation of Wnet and ge with the temperature
increment of regenerator RLT (dTLT) in system LT for three cycle
modes. Temperature increment of regenerator RLT (dTLT) is defined
as the temperature difference between the outlet and the inlet of
regenerator RLT at pump PLT side and is calculated as: dTLT = T6s  T6.
Operating parameters are shown in Table 4. For mode 1, with the
increase of dTLT, Wnet and ge first increase and then decrease. For
the other two modes, Wnet and ge both increase. Because adding
regenerator RLT will enhance the inlet temperature of evaporator
E1,LT. Whereas, the outlet temperature of evaporator E1,LT is con-
stant with fixed engine coolant inlet temperature and the pinch
point exists at the working fluid outlet and engine coolant inlet.
Therefore, the enthalpy increase of the working fluid in evaporator
E1,LT decreases. With the engine coolant waste heat all recovered,
the mass flow rate of the working fluid in the LT loop increases,
which will enhance the irreversibility of evaporator E1,LT under cer-
tain temperature difference between the working fluid and the
heat source. Whereas, this temperature difference decreases,
improving the thermal match between them and decreasing the
irreversibility of evaporator E1,LT. Therefore, the increase speed of
the working fluid and the decrease speed of the temperature differ-
ence decide the variation trend of Wnet and ge together. For mode 1,
the former is first smaller and then bigger than the latter. There-
fore, Wnet and ge first increase and then decrease. For mode 2
and mode 3, the former is always smaller than the latter. Therefore,
Wnet and ge continuously increase. Take 1 K as an increment step of
dTLT, Wnet and ge averagely increase (0.08 kW, 0.05%), (0.166 kW,
0.19%), and (0.13 kW, 0.23%) for mode1 and mode 2 and mode 3.
In addition, Wnet and ge increase with dTHT and dTLT in the sys-
tem D for prefixed other operating parameters, which are shown
in Table 4. Variation trends are similar to those in system HT and
system LT. Furthermore, with other operating parameters, varia-
tion trends of all systems and modes stay similar.
Therefore, either adding regenerator RHT or adding regenerator
RLT is beneficial to performance optimization and the effect is more
significant for mode 2 and mode 3.

Fig. 4. Variation of net output power (Wnet) and exergy efficiency (ge) with the temperature increment of regenerator RHT (dTHT) in the system HT.
 G. Shu et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 76 (2013) 234–243 239

Fig. 5. Variation of net output power (Wnet) and exergy efficiency (ge) with the temperature increment of regenerator RLT (dTLT) in the system LT.

Fig. 6. Variation of net output power with evaporation pressure of the HT loop
Fig. 7. Variation of exergy efficiency with evaporation pressure of the HT loop
(Pevp,HT).
(Pevp,HT).

increase speed of Wt,HT is first faster and then lower than that of
5.1.2. Evaporation pressure of the HT loop (Pevp,HT)
Wp,HT, resulting in parabolic variation trend of Wnet.
Fig. 6 shows the variation of net output power (Wnet) with evap-
Fig. 7 shows the variation of exergy efficiency (ge) with Pevp,HT.
oration pressure of the HT loop (Pevp,HT). As the range of evapora-
Operating parameters are same with those in Fig. 6. With the in-
tion pressure of the LT loop (Pevp,LT) is small, it is not analyzed in
crease of Pevp,HT, ge increases for all systems and modes. Because un-
detail in this paper. Pevp,LT is set to be correspondingly optimal va-
der the condition of constant inlet temperature of turbine THT, with
lue, with which maximum Wnet is obtained under certain Pevp,HT.
the increase of Pevp,HT, the working fluid inlet point of turbine THT
Condensation temperature of the HT loop (Tcond,HT) and inlet tem-
shifts left and the working fluid oulet temperature of turbine THT de-
perature of turbine THT (T3) are set to be 385 K and 648 K. Fig. 6 pre-
creases. The heat source inlet temperature of evaporator E2,LT also de-
sents that with the increase of Pevp,HT, Wnet shows a parabola-like
creases greatly. Whereas, as analyzed above, the working fluid mass
behavior for mode 3 in these four systems. Whereas, for mode 1
flow rate and inlet temperature of evaporator E2,LT in the LT loop stay
and mode 2, Wnet just increases continuously due to small ranges
constant. Therefore, the temperature difference between the working
of Pevp,HT obtained in subcritical cycle of the HT loop. In the LT loop,
fluid and heat source in evaporator E2,LT decreases, lessening the irre-
the mass flow rate and the temperature at evaporator E1,LT outlet of
versibility of evaporator E2,LT, which is dominant factor. Irreversibili-
the working fluid are determined only by the engine coolant which
ties of other components vary little. Thus, total irreversibility
is fixed in our study. With certain Tcond,HT, outlet temperatures of
decreases and system exergy efficiency continuously increases.
both evaporator E2,LT and E3,LT vary little. Therefore, net output
In addition, for mode 1, the addition of regenerator RHT hardly
power of the LT loop (Wnet,LT) changes little and dominant factor
affects Wnet and the addition of regenerator RLT hardly affects ge.
affecting Wnet is net output power of the HT loop (Wnet,HT). In the
Whereas, for other modes, either adding regenerator RHT or adding
HT loop, with the increase of Pevp,HT, powers output by turbine
regenerator RLT enhances system performance.
THT (Wt,HT) and consumed by pump PHT (Wp,HT) both increase,
whereas, the increase speeds are different. In subcritical cycles, 5.1.3. Condensation temperature of the HT loop (Tcond,HT)
the increase speed of Wt,HT is always faster than that of Wp,HT, Figs. 8 and 9 show the variation of net output power (Wnet) and
resulting in continous increase of Wnet. In transcritical cycles, the exergy efficiency (ge) with the condensation temperature of the HT
240 G. Shu et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 76 (2013) 234–243
loop (Tcond,HT). Evaporation pressures (Pevp,HT and Pevp,LT) and tem-
perature increments of regenerators (dTHT and dTLT) of each system
and mode are all set to be optimal values obtained in Sections 5.1.1
and 5.1.2. Inlet temperatures of turbine THT is same (648 K) for each
system and mode. With the increase of Tcond,HT, Wnet and ge both
decrease. Because as Tcond,HT increases, condensation pressure of
the HT loop (Pcond,HT) increases, resulting in the decrease of the
pressure difference between Pcond,HT and Pevp,HT. In addition, with
the increase of Tcond,HT, the working fluid inlet temperature of evap-
orator EHT increases. Under constant working fluid inlet tempera-
ture of turbine THT, the working fluid enthalpy increment in
evaporator EHT decreases, resulting in slight increase of the work-
ing fluid mass flow rate of the HT loop, whose effect is much sligh-
ter compared to the decrease of the pressure difference. Therefore,
the power output by turbine THT decreases greatly. Though the
power consumed by pump PHT also decreases, the decrease is
slight. Therefore, net output power of the HT loop (Wnet,HT) de-
creases. In addition, though the increase of Tcond,HT will decrease
the heat input in the LT loop from the residual heat of the HT loop
and decrease the working fluid outlet temperature of evaporator
E2,LT, the evaporation process driven by the low-temperature ex-
haust will compensate the effect, resulting in little variation of
the working fluid inlet temperature of turbine TLT. In addition,
the mass flow rate is determined only by the evaporation process
driven by the engine coolant, which stays constant when Tcond,HT
varies. Therefore, net output power of the LT loop (Wnet,LT) varies
little and total net output power (Wnet) decreases with Tcond,HT
increasing. As for ge, the increase of Tcond,HT means the increase of
the heat source temperature in evaporator E2,LT. The working fluid
inlet temperature of evaporator E2,LT is the working fluid outlet
temperature of evaporator E1,LT, which is determined only by the
first evaporation process driven by the engine coolant and stays
constant when Tcond,HT varies. Therefore, the temperature differ-
ence between the heat source and working fluid in evaporator
E2,LT increases, resulting in larger irreversibility and lower exergy
efficiency.
The discrepancy of the variation curve for mode 3 in system LT
is mainly due to Pevp,HT. For mode 3, with the increase of Tcond,HT, the
range of Pevp,HT becomes smaller, resulting in available Pevp,HT
departures optimal point (the inflexion point of the parabola).
Optimal point for mode 3 in system LT is 4.5 MPa. Whereas, when
Tcond,HT is too smaller (such as 373 K), the minimum Pevp,HT, which
the system can be operated with, is 15 MPa and with this Pevp,HT
the system performs best with other same fixed parameters.
Therefore, initial Wnet becomes much smaller and ge becomes
Fig. 8. Variation of net output power with condensation temperature of the HT loop
(Tcond,HT).
Fig. 9. Variation of exergy efficiency with condensation temperature of the HT loop
(Tcond,HT).
Table 5
Optimal Tcond,HT for each system and mode.
System N (K) System HT (K) System LT (K) System D (K)
Mode 1 371 371 383 383
Mode 2 372 363 383 366
Mode 3 374 363 377 366
much bigger compared to the linear trend due to the limitation
of Pevp,HT’s range. But the Pevp,HT’s range becomes wider with the in-
crease of Tcond,HT and the effect gets weaker.
Optimal Tcond,HT for each system and mode is shown in Table 5.
5.1.4. Inlet temperature of turbine THT (T3)
Figs. 10 and 11 show the variation of net output power (Wnet)
and exergy efficiency (ge) with the inlet temperature of turbine
THT (T3). Other operating parameters for each system and mode
are all set to be optimal values obtained in Sections 5.1.1–5.1.3.
With the increase of T3, Wnet and ge increase for mode 1, whereas,
they decrease for mode 2 and mode 3. As subcritical cycles are
adopted in the HT loop for mode 1 and mode 2, the increase of
T3 means the increase of superheat. For mode 1, wet fluid water
is used as the working fluid of the HT loop and large superheat is
necessary and beneficial; whereas, for mode 2, dry fluid siloxane
is used as the working fluid of the HT loop and large superheat is
harmful to system performance. Therefore, with T3 increasing, Wnet
and ge increase for mode 1 and decrease for mode 2. For mode 3,
which adopts a transcritical cycle and a dry fluid in the HT loop,
the performance is better near the critical point, meaning that
increasing T3 does harm to performance optimization. In addition,
for mode 1, system LT and D perform worse, meaning adding
regenerator RLT is harmful to performance improvement. Because
with the addition of regenerator RLT, minimum Tcond,HT gets higher,
which worsens system performance. With mode 1, Tcond,HTs ob-
tained in system N and HT are both 371 K, whereas, those in sys-
tem D and LT are both 383 K. For mode 2 and mode 3, adding
either regenerator RHT or regenerator RLT is beneficial and system
D performs best.
Table 6 shows the system performance with optimal parame-
ters determined above. It is obvious that any a system adopting
mode 1 performs better than those adopting other modes. Perfor-
mances of different systems which adopt mode 1 change little. Sys-
tem N performs best and maximum Wnet, gec and ge are 39.67 kW,
11.93% and 42.98%. For mode 2 and mode 3, system D performs
 G. Shu et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 76 (2013) 234–243
Fig. 10. Variation of net output power with inlet temperature of turbine THT (T3).
Fig. 11. Variation of exergy efficiency with inlet temperature of turbine THT (T3).
better and the following is system HT. Maximum Wnet, gec and ge
for mode 2 and mode 3 are (36.32 kW, 10.94%, 39.66%) and
(37.81 kW, 11.4%, 42.07%). Table 6 also shows utilization rates of
exhaust and engine coolant waste heat. It is obvious that available
waste heat of the engine coolant has been recovered completely in
all systems with all modes, meaning that the engine coolant can di-
rectly flow back to the engine without another condenser for fur-
ther condensation, which can save the cost and downsize the
system. Utilization of exhaust waste heat is also high and above
75% in all systems with all modes. The limit value of exhaust waste
heat utilization rate is up to 80.77% due to the existence of the ex-
haust acid dew point (120 °C). Therefore, for mode 1, the addition
of regenerators is harmful to system performance, especially the
addition of regenerator RLT. For mode 2 and mode 3, the addition
of regenerators is beneficial to system performance, especially
the addition of regenerator RHT.
5.2. Component irreversibility
Fig. 12 shows the irreversibility of each component. It is obvious
that for all systems and modes, irreversibility caused by the wasted
exhaust (Ig) is rather large due to that final temperature of the ex-
haust before being delivered into the ambient must be over 120 °C
(acid dew point of the exhaust) to prevent the low-temperature
241
corrosion, which is a rather higher temperature compared to the
ambient temperature.
For mode 1, total irreversibilities of these four systems change
little, showing that regenerators are of little effect on exergy per-
formance of the system. In addition, among all components, the
top three irreversibilities occur in condenser CLT, turbine TLT and
evaporator EHT. Because the heat of the working fluid is totally
wasted by the supplied cooling water in condenser CLT, resulting
in large irreversibility of this component. The temperature differ-
ence between the working fluid (water) with the high-temperature
exhaust in the HT loop is also very big and irreversibility caused by
the finite-temperature-difference heat exchange in evaporator EHT
is large. For irreversibility of turbine TLT, it is mainly due to large
mass flow rate of R143a in the LT loop, which enhances the non-
isentropic extent of expansion.
For mode 2 and mode 3, system D and system N respectively
possess the smallest and largest total irreversibility. Irreversibili-
ties of condenser CLT and turbine TLT are also large among all com-
ponents, as explained above. For system D and HT, irreversibilities
of condenser CHT (evaporator E2,LT) and evaporator EHT are smaller
compared to the other two systems. Because the inlet temperature
of siloxane (working fluid of the HT loop) in condenser CHT de-
creases with the addition of regenerator RHT, resulting in the de-
crease of the temperature difference between the heat source
and working fluid in condenser CHT. The addition of regenerator
RHT also increases the inlet temperature of siloxane in evaporator
EHT. The temperature difference between siloxane and exhaust in
evaporator EHT also decreases. Therefore, irreversibilities of these
two components in system D and HT are smaller than those in sys-
tem N and LT. Irreversibility of evaporator E3,LT is bigger in system
D and HT than that in the other two systems. Because when adding
regenerator RHT, the inlet temperature of siloxane in condenser CHT
decreases, resulting in the decrease of the heat transferred to the
LT loop from the HT loop. The inlet point of evaporator E2,LT (outlet
point of evaporator E1,LT) and working fluid mass flow rate of the LT
loop are certain with fixed engine coolant. Therefore, the working
fluid inlet temperature of evaporator E3,LT (outlet temperature of
evaporator E2,LT) decreases, resulting in the increase of the temper-
ature difference between R143a and the low-temperature exhaust.
Bigger irreversibility of evaporator E3,LT is generated. In addition,
irreversibility of evaporator E1,LT is smaller in system D and LT. Be-
cause the addition of regenerator RLT increases the inlet tempera-
ture of R143a in evaporator E1,LT, resulting in the decrease of the
temperature difference between R143a and the engine coolant.
According to Fig. 12, total irreversibility for mode 1 is smaller
than that for the other modes, showing that the working fluid is
of great effect on system exergy performance. Irreversibility of tur-
bine THT for mode 1 is bigger than that for the other modes. Be-
cause the temperature and pressure differences between the
inlet and outlet of turbine THT for mode 1 are much higher than
that for mode 2 and mode 3, meaning larger effect of non-isentro-
pic expansion and resulting in larger irreversibility. Total irrevers-
ibility of each system for mode 3 is smaller than that for mode 2,
meaning that in transcritical cycles, the thermal match between
the working fluid and heat source and exergy performance are
better.
6. Conclusion
In this paper, three regenerative DORC systems are proposed to
compare with a simple DORC system. The waste heat of the ex-
haust, engine coolant and residual heat of the HT loop are recov-
ered in these four systems. Cycle mode (transcritical cycle and
subcritical cycle) and working fluid of the HT loop are evaluated.
Water and siloxane are chosen as working fluid candidates of the
242 G. Shu et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 76 (2013) 234–243

Table 6
System performance with optimal parameters.

System N System HT System LT System D

Mode 1
Net output power (kW) 39.67 39.44 39.17 39.18
Energy conversion efficiency (%) 11.93 11.86 11.88 11.88
Exergy efficiency (%) 42.98 42.84 42.03 42.04
Utilization rate of exhaust waste heat (%) 80.69 80.77 78.93 79.01
Utilization rate of engine coolant waste heat (%) 100
Operating parameters Pevp,HT = 7 MPa Pevp,HT = 6 MPa Pevp,HT = 7 MPa Pevp,HT = 7 MPa
Pevp,LT = 4.09 MPa Pevp,LT = 4.11 MPa Pevp,LT = 3.82 MPa Pevp,LT = 3.82 MPa
Tcond,HT = 371 K Tcond,HT = 371 K Tcond,HT = 383 K Tcond,HT = 383 K
T3 = 748 K T3 = 718 K T3 = 748 K T3 = 748 K
dTHT = 1 K dTLT = 8 K dTHT = 6 K
dTLT = 8 K

Mode 2
Net output power (kW) 32.65 35.70 32.74 36.32
Energy conversion efficiency (%) 9.90 10.73 10.02 10.94
Exergy efficiency (%) 36.69 39.31 36.28 39.66
Utilization rate of exhaust waste heat (%) 79.07 80.77 76.82 80.40
Utilization rate of engine coolant waste heat (%) 100
Operating parameters Pevp,HT = 1.3 MPa Pevp,HT = 1.3 MPa Pevp,HT = 1.3 MPa Pevp,HT = 1.3 MPa
Pevp,LT = 4.13 MPa Pevp,LT = 4.08 MPa Pevp,LT = 3.93 MPa Pevp,LT = 3.94 MPa
Tcond,HT = 372 K Tcond,HT = 363 K Tcond,HT = 383 K Tcond,HT = 366 K
T3 = 598 K T3 = 628 K T3 = 588 K T3 = 643 K
dTHT = 140 K dTLT = 6 K dTHT = 165 K
dTLT = 6 K

Mode 3
Net output power (kW) 32.77 36.11 34.02 37.81
Energy conversion efficiency (%) 9.97 10.88 10.39 11.4
Exergy efficiency (%) 37.33 40.46 38.68 42.07
Utilization rate of exhaust waste heat (%) 78.34 80.38 77.45 80.20
Utilization rate of engine coolant waste heat (%) 100
Operating parameters Pevp,HT = 4 MPa Pevp,HT = 5 MPa Pevp,HT = 6 MPa Pevp,HT = 5 MPa
Pevp,LT = 4.09 MPa Pevp,LT = 4.07 MPa Pevp,LT = 3.95 MPa Pevp,LT = 3.95 MPa
Tcond,HT = 374 K Tcond,HT = 363 K Tcond,HT = 377 K Tcond,HT = 366 K
T3 = 588 K T3 = 643 K T3 = 628 K T3 = 648 K
dTHT = 120 K dTLT = 10 K dTHT = 135 K
dTLT = 10 K

2. The inlet temperature of turbine THT should be high for wet flu-
ids in subcritical cycles and low for dry fluids in both subcritical
and transcritical cycles.
3. System N with mode 1 (water/subcritical-R143a/transcritical)
performs best. Maximum net output power and exergy effi-
ciency are 39.67 kW and 42.98%.
4. Systems with mode 1 possess smaller irreversibility and irrev-
ersibilities of different systems change little. For dry working
fluids, exergy performance of transcritical cycles is better than
that of subcritical cycles and system D performs best. Irreversi-
bilities of condenser CLT and turbine TLT are large for all systems
and cycle modes.

Acknowledgments

Fig. 12. Component irreversibility.
HT loop. The LT loop is certain, in which R143a is used as the work-
ing fluid and transcritical cycle is adopted. Influence of operating
parameters and component irreversibility are also analyzed. Based
on the mathematic model and analyses above, some conclusions
are obtained:
1. Low condensation temperature of the HT loop is beneficial to
performance optimization.
This work was sponsored by the National Natural Science Foun-
dation of China (No. 51206117), the National Basic Research (973)
Program of China (No. 2011CB707201) and the Natural Science
Foundation of Tianjin (No. 12JCQNJC04400).
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