An exploration of the application to buildings of an organic Rankine cycle power generation system driven by solar evacuated glass tubes

Abstract

Solar technologies are an efficient means of addressing environmental pollution and climate change challenges. In this study, an organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system driven by solar evacuated glass tubes named solar water power generation system (SWPG) was experimentally investigated to explore the performance of the SWPG system in powering buildings. For ORC, a new mixture called TD-3 was introduced for the experiment after comparing the thermodynamic characteristics of five working fluids using REFPROP software. The solar radiation intensity was simulated for solar collectors to determine the best installation angle of the evacuated glass tubes to be 30° in Tianjin, China. The power generating efficiency was tested as high as 4.5% at 1:00 pm on July 15. The optimization of operating parameters and the modification of generating equipment contributed to the increase in power generation. The SWPG system could achieve an optimal power output when the system guaranteed a small superheat and no more than 3°C subcooling using the TD-3. The transmission ratio between the generator and expander also impacted power generation that the ratio of 2:1 helped optimize the power generation.