Application of Taguchi’s Methods for Optimizing Organic Rankine Cycle for Recovering Low Grade Industrial Waste Heat

This research attempts the optimization of Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) by Taguchi’s robust design methods for generating electricity from industrial waste heat. Experimental results and data from previous researches is used to assign the relative importance of parameters. Parameters selected are waste stream temperature, waste stream flow rate, type of refrigerant and turbine speed. Optimum combination of these control parameters is obtained by using Taguchi’s techniques. Individual effect of parameters on the performance of Organic Rankine Cycle is calculated. Interaction effect of parameters on the performance of ORC is also calculated. A percent effect of individual parameters on performance is estimated by using ANOVA. Using this procedure, an optimal cycle can be obtained for maximum efficiency within available sources.