Experimental study on steady-state operation of organic Rankine cycle system under different operating conditions

In this study, the effects of six operating conditions on the performance of a 3 kW- ORC (organic Rankine cycle) system were investigated. The results of experiments show that, despite differences in the physical parameters of the three working fluids used, the performance of the ORC system was similar. Further, the cooling water temperature (CWT) was strictly controlled, but the experimental results were affected by the condensation temperature, however the experimental system can maintain stable operation. Since generators are affected by different factors, the variation in generator generation fluctuates over a wide range during steady state operation of the system. The theoretical shaft work of the expander and generator power generation of the system using R245fa exceeds that of the other two working fluids due to the density. It had a maximum generator power conversion efficiency of 64.651% under C1 condition, maximum exergy efficiency of 27.346% under C3 condition; the system has a maximum cycle efficiency of 9.543% and a cold energy utilization efficiency of 5.633%, under C6 conditions; although maximum power generation (1.019 kW) and maximum net work (1.321 kW), the total exergy loss of the system also reached its maximum value (13.756kw) under C5 condition.