Waste Heat Recovery

WasteHeatRecovery_DM

Various technologies are being explored to make use of the hot exhaust gases from engines that are currently wasted out of the exhaust pipe.  Two of these technologies that are supported in GT-SUITE are the Rankine cycle and TEG (Thermo Electric Generator) systems.  Using the same proven two-phase approach used in modeling air conditioning systems with fluid properties from NIST Refprop, Rankine cycle models are simulated in GT-SUITE to explore fuel savings and investigate advanced control strategies.  Complex layouts including multiple heat exchanger stages and valving systems are supported.  Studies using TEGs include investigating new advanced Peltier-effect materials and different layouts for maximizing the amount of power generation between the hot and cold streams.



Product Highlights

  • Model all Rankine/TEG system components individually or as a complete system
  • NIST REFPROP fluid properties source code built in
  • Spatially resolved condenser and evaporator models to capture phase change
  • Automatic calibration of all components – heat exchangers, expander, etc
  • Robust solver based on Navier-Stokes equations allows arbitrary initial state and zero flow
  • Fast execution (faster than real-time)

Advanced Features and Applications

  • Investigate advanced controls strategies for optimizing power output
  • Integrate with existing GT-POWER engine model to study engine-WHR system interaction
  • Predict heat exchanger performance when geometry is changed (scaled)
  • Optimize system layout for different configurations
  • Use proprietary supplier-generated NIST Refprop FLD and MIX files – all supported automatically