A Compendium of Methods for Determining the Exergy Balance Terms Applied to Reciprocating Internal Combustion Engines

Exergy analysis of the reciprocating internal combustion (IC) engines is studied by estimating various input and output energy transfer parameters concerning a dead state reference. Exergy terms such as fuel input, work output, cooling, and exhaust gas are measured and are set into the exergy balance equation to determine the amount of loss or destruction. Exergy destructions are found in many forms such as combustion (entropy generation), cylinder wall, friction, mixing, blow-by, and others. These exergy terms have been estimated by considering various factors such as engine type, fuel type, environmental condition, and others. In this article, the different methods employed in estimating these exergy terms have been reviewed. It attempts to make a compendium of these evaluation methods and segregates them under individual exergy terms with necessary descriptions. The fuel input measurement is mostly based on Gibb's free energy and the lower heating value, whereas its higher heating value is used during the fuel exergy calculation on a molar basis. The work output of the engines is estimated either from the crankshaft or by analyzing the cylinder pressure and volume. The exergy transfer with cooling medium and exhaust gas depends on the temperature of gas. The maximum achievable engine performance is quantified by estimating the exergy efficiency. This piece of study will not only provide a plenty of information on exergy evaluation methods of IC engines but will also allow the future researchers to adopt the appropriate one.

Stirling Refrigerating Machine Modeling Using Schmidt and Finite Physical Dimensions Thermodynamic Models: A Comparison with Experiments

The purpose of the study is to show that two simple models that take into account only the irreversibility due to temperature difference in the heat exchangers and imperfect regeneration are able to indicate refrigerating machine behavior. In the present paper, the finite physical dimensions thermodynamics (FPDT) method and 0-D modeling using the Schmidt model with imperfect regeneration were applied in the study of a β type Stirling refrigeration machine.The 0-D modeling is improved by including the irreversibility caused by imperfect regeneration and the finite temperature difference between the gas and the heat exchangers wall. A flowchart of the Stirling refrigerator exergy balance is presented to show the internal and external irreversibilities. It is found that the irreversibility at the regenerator level is more important than that at the heat exchangers level. The energies exchanged by the working gas are expressed according to the practical parameters, necessary for the engineer during the entire project. The results of the two thermodynamic models are presented in comparison with the experimental results, which leads to validation of the proposed FPDT model for the functional and constructive parameters of the studied refrigerating machine.

Reviewing the Exergy Analysis of Solar Thermal Systems Integrated with Phase Change Materials

The application of thermal storage materials in solar systems involves materials that utilize sensible heat energy, thermo-chemical reactions or phase change materials, such as hydrated salts, fatty acids paraffin and non-paraffin like glycerol. This article reviews the various exergy approaches that were applied for several solar systems including hybrid solar water heating, solar still, solar space heating, solar dryers/heaters and solar cooking systems. In fact, exergy balance was applied for the different components of the studied system with a particular attention given to the determination of the exergy efficiency and the calculation of the exergy during charging and discharging periods. The influence of the system configuration and heat transfer fluid was also emphasized. This review shows that not always the second law of thermodynamics was applied appropriately during modeling, such as how to consider heat charging and discharging periods of the tested phase change material. Accordingly, the possibility of providing with inappropriate or not complete results, was pointed.

Technical economic model of energy utilization and energy saving for central heating system

Chinese heating method has gradually shifted from small fragments to centralized regional heating. This heating method has achieved obvious energy-saving benefits. The article establishes an economic model of the energy utilization rate of the central heating system and installs the system exergy balance equation at the same time. The simulation found that the energy utilization coefficient of the heating system is high and has a high energy-saving potential. The effect of energy utilization is poor, and it has great potential for energy saving.

Open feed organic heater pressure analysis on single-stage regenerative organic Rankine cycle performance

Single-stage regenerative organic Rankine cycle (SSRORC) is a system that is used for increasing the simple organic Rankine cycle (ORC) performance. Open feed organic heater (OFOH) addition in the ORC system increase power and efficiency of the system. This paper analyzes the SSRORC performance with a variation of P6/P1 ranges from 1.25 to 3.75 with an increment of 0.25, where P6 is the OFOH pressure at the inlet side and P1 is the pressure at the inlet pump 1, respectively. Hot water was used as the heat source with 100 °C and 100 l/min of temperature and volume flow rate as the initial data. R227ea, R245fa, and R141b were chosen as working fluids for performance analysis. The analysis was performed by calculating the heat input, heat loss, pump and turbine power, net power, and thermal efficiency through energy balance. Exergy input, exergy output, and exergy efficiency were analyzed through exergy balance. The results show that P6/P1 = 2 obtains the highest performance than the other pressure ratios for R227ea, while R245fa and R141b obtain the highest performance at P6/P1 = 2.25. R141b has better performance than the other two fluids with 10.97 % and 11.96 % for thermal and exergy efficiency. The results show that the ratio of OFOH pressure at the inlet side to the pressure at inlet pump 1 (P6/P1) in the middle value obtains the best performance.