Performance of a thermally activated cooling system and design of a microchannel heat recovery unit

• Main Author: Seward, Ryan
• Other Authors: Wang, Hailei
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: microchannel; heat recovery; thermally activated cooling system; heat exchanger; design; diesel generator; Heat exchangers; Diesel motor; Heat recovery; Microreactors; Rankine cycle; Cooling
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1957/28445

The performance of a combined vapor-compression cycle/ORC is evaluated using waste-heat from a diesel generator. A flat plate microchannel heat exchanger is employed to provide energy exchange between the diesel exhaust stream and an oil loop, which provides energy to a boiler. This study finds an increased diesel duty corresponds with an increased cooling capacity, for a maximum of 5 kW of cooling (with 13.5 kWe diesel load). System COP is reduced with a higher input power due to limitations in the cooling cycle. A number of solutions are identified to increase the COP and cooling capacity. A new microchannel heat exchanger to recovery heat is designed to increase performance compared to the previous version. === Graduation date: 2012