ADVANCED THERMODYNAMIC MODEL OF ORGANIC RANKINE CYCLE

asme-orc2015 Tracking Number 68

Low-grade heat from geothermal or industrial processes is an eco-friendly resource for electric power production. The Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) has become a popular means to exploit these energy sources. This growing popularity has resulted in the need for rapid, accurate simulation tools for plant design and specification. In this paper, an advanced, steady state, thermodynamic model of an ORC is developed. The model is composed of several sub components including: a plate evaporator and condenser, centrifugal pump, turbine expander, and pipe elements. Each of these components is modelled independently and their inputs/outputs are combined together to form the overall system loop. The model is developed using simple programming language (VBA) in excel and utilizes NIST Refprop for calculation of state properties. This medium was chosen because of its simplicity and low cost; however, the general model structure can easily be implemented in any programming language. The model predictions are validated against experimental data from an ORC system operated at several evaporating and condensing conditions.