Techno-economic feasibility assessment of a diesel exhaust heat recovery system to preheat mine intake air in remote cold climate regions

Underground mines in Arctic and Subarctic regions require the preheating of mine intake air during winter. The cold fresh air of those remote areas can be as severe as -40 ℃ and commonly needs to be heated to around +3 ℃. This extensive amount of heating is usually provided by employing large-size air heaters,fueled by diesel, propane, natural gas, or heavy oil, leading to high energy costs and large carbon footprints. At the same time, the thermal energy content of a diesel generator sets(gen-sets) exhaust is known to be one-third of the total heating value of its combusted fuel. Exhaust heat recovery from diesel gen-sets is a growing technology that seeks to mitigate the energy costs by capturing and redirecting this commonly rejected exhaust heat to other applications such as space heating or pre-heating of the mine intake air. The present study investigated the possibility of employing a simple system based on off-theshelf heat exchanger technology, which can recover the waste heat from the exhaust of the power generation units(diesel gen-sets) in an off-grid, cold, remote mine in Canada for heating of the mine intake air. Data from a real mine was used for the analysis along with environmental data of three different location-scenarios with distinct climates. After developing a thermodynamic model, the heat savings were calculated, and an economic feasibility evaluation was performed. The proposed system was found highly viable with annual savings of up to C$6.7 million and capable enough to provide an average of around 75% of the heating demand for mine intake air, leading to a payback period of about eleven months or less for all scenarios. Deployment of seasonal thermal energy storage has also been recommended to mitigate the mismatch between supply and demand, mainly in summertime, possibly allowing the system to eliminate fuel costs for intake air heating.     

An approach for IC engine coolant energy recovery based on low-temperature organic Rankine cycle

To promote the fuel utilization efficiency of IC engine, an approach was proposed for IC engine coolant energy recovery based on low-temperature organic Rankine cycle(ORC). The ORC system uses IC engine coolant as heat source, and it is coupled to the IC engine cooling system. After various kinds of organic working media were compared, R124 was selected as the ORC working medium. According to IC engine operating conditions and coolant energy characteristics, the major parameters of ORC system were preliminary designed. Then, the effects of various parameters on cycle performance and recovery potential of coolant energy were analyzed via cycle process calculation. The results indicate that cycle efficiency is mainly influenced by the working pressure of ORC, while the maximum working pressure is limited by IC engine coolant temperature. At the same working pressure, cycle efficiency is hardly affected by both the mass flow rate and temperature of working medium. When the bottom cycle working pressure arrives at the maximum allowable value of 1.6 MPa, the fuel utilization efficiency of IC engine could be improved by 12.1%.All these demonstrate that this low-temperature ORC is a useful energy-saving technology for IC engine.     

Experimental investigation on diesel engine’s waste heat capacity under mapping characteristics

Waste heat recovery for internal combustion engine(ICE)has been considered as an important strategy to improve efficiency and promote fuel economy,thus alleviating the problems of energy shortage and environmental pollution.This paper investigates the characteristics of various kinds of waste heat energy,namely,waste heat in exhaust,cooling water and charge air,over the engine’s whole operating region.Based on the energy balance experiments,the energy distribution of a conventional heavy-duty diesel engine is obtained under mapping characteristics.According to exergy analysis,the energy recovery potential for waste heat is studied as well.The experimental results indicate that exhaust energy increases with engine speed and load,while cooling water energy is more sensitive to load,especially at low and middle speed.Charge air energy,on the other hand,mainly counts on speed rather than load.Exhaust energy possesses the highest recovery potential in terms of both quantity and quality.Through waste heat recovery,a dramatic improvement in engine efficiency is achievable,actually,the maximum value can amount to 60%or even more.     

Performance analysis of air-water dual source heat pump water heater with heat recovery

A new air-water dual source heat pump water heater with heat recovery is proposed.The heat pump system can heat water by using a single air source,a single water source,or air-water dual sources.The water is first pre-heated by waste hot water,then heated by the heat pump.Waste heat is recovered by first preheating the cold water and as water source of the heat pump.According to the correlated formulas of the coefficient of performance of air-source heat pump and water-source heat pump,and the gain coefficient of heat recovery-preheater,the formulas for the coefficient of performance of heat pump in six operating modes are obtained by using the dimensionless correspondence analysis method.The system characteristics of heat absorption and release associated with the heat recovery-preheater are analyzed at different working conditions.The developed approaches can provide reference for the optimization of the operating modes and parameters.The results of analysis and experiments show that the coefficient of performance of the device can reach 4-5.5 in winter,twice as much as air source heat pump water heater.The utilization of waste heat in the proposed system is higher than that in the system which only uses waste water to preheating or as heat source.Thus,the effect of energy saving of the new system is obvious.On the other hand,the dimensionless correspondence analysis method is introduced to performance analysis of the heat pump,which also has theoretical significance and practical value.     

Electromechanical coupling driving control for single-shaft parallel hybrid powertrain

The single-shaft parallel hybrid powertrain with the automatic mechanical transmission(AMT)is an efficient hybrid driving system in the hybrid electric bus(HEB),while the electromechanical coupling driving control becomes a complicated question to find a transient optimal control method to distribute the power between the engine and the electric machine(EM).This paper proposes an innovative control method to deal with the complicated transient coupling driving process of the electromechanical coupling driving system,considering the accelerating condition and the cruising condition mostly in the city driving cycle of HEB.The EM might be operated at driving mode or generating mode to assist the diesel engine to work in its high-efficiency area.Therefore,the adaptive torque tracking controller has been brought forward to ensure that the EM implements the demand torque as well as compensate the torque fluctuation of diesel engine.The d?q axis mathematical model and back stepping method are employed to deduce the adaptive controller and its adaptive laws.Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed control scheme can make the output torque of two power sources respond rapidly to the demand torque from the powertrain in the given driving condition.The proposed method could be adopted in the real control of HEB to improve the efficiency of the hybrid driving system.     

A mathematical model for optimized operation and control in a CDQ-Boiler system

Based on analyzing the thermal process of a CDQ （coke dry quenching）-Boiler system, the mathematical model for opti-mized operation and control in the CDQ-Boiler system was developed. It includes a mathematical model for heat transferring process in the CDQ unit, a mathematical model for heat transferring process in the boiler and a combustion model for circulating gas in the CDQ-Boiler system. The model was verified by field data, then a series of simulations under several typical operating conditions of CDQ-Boiler were carried on, and in turn, the online relation formulas between the productivity and the optimal circulating gas, and the one between the productivity and the optimal second air, were achieved respectively. These relation equations have been success- fully used in a CDQ-Boiler computer control system in the Baosteel, to realize online optimized guide and control, and meanwhile high efficiency in the CDQ-Boiler system has been achieved.     

Design and dynamic characteristic prediction of air-powered twin-rotor piston engine

A novel air-powered twin-rotor piston engine(ATPE) utilizing a differential velocity driving mechanism to achieve a high output torque was proposed.The ATPE had eight separated rotary cylinders which can dynamically enlarge the engine displacement as a result of the special driving mechanism,which was named dynamic volume expansion.The mathematical model of ATPE comprising a dynamic model and a thermodynamic model was established under the assumption of no mechanical friction.The model was numerically simulated in Matlab.The results show that shortage of low output torque confusing traditional air-powered engines can be overcome.The average output torque sharply increases to 100 N·m,which is about three times that of traditional air-powered engines with equal cylinder displacement under the pressure of 0.6 MPa at 480 r/min.ATPE can be used to drive vehicles directly without transmission box,therefore the energy transfer efficiency of ATPE can be increased.Furthermore,benefitting from the novel gas distribution system,the engine shows an ability in self-adjusting under different loads.The arrangements of air ports automatically adjust the open interval of air ports according to the load,which may simplify the speed control system.     

Preparation of Fe-M Intermetallic/TiC-M_2O_3 Ceramic Composites from Ilmenite by SHS

Fe-Al intermetallic/TiC-Al_2O_3 ceramic composites were successfully prepared by self- propagating high-temperature synthesis(SHS)from natural ilmenite,aluminium and carbon as the raw materials.The effects of carbon sources,preheating time and heat treatment temperature on synthesis process and products were investigated in detail,and the reaction process of the FeTiO_3-Al-C system was also discussed. It is shown that the temperature and velocity of the combustion wave are higher when graphite is used as the carbon source,which can reflect the effect of the carbon source structure on the combustion synthesis; Prolonging the preheating time or heat treatment temperature is beneficial to the formation of the ordered intermetallics;The temperature and velocity of the combustion wave are improved,but the disordered alloys are difficult to eliminate with the preheating time prolonged.The compound powders mainly containing ordered Fe3Al intermetallic can be prepared through heat treatment at 750℃.     

Preparation of Fe-Al Intermetallie /TiC-Al2O3 Ceramie Composites from llmenite by SHS

Fe-Al intermetallic/TiC-Al2O3 ceramic composites were successfully prepared by selfpropagating high-temperature synthesis （SHS） from natural ilmenite, aluminium and carbon as the raw materials. The effects of carbon sources, preheating time and heat treatment temperature on synthesis process and products were investigated in detail, and the reaction process of the FeTiO3-Al-C system was also discussed. It is shown that the temperature and velocity of the combustion wave are higher when graphite is used as the carbon source, which can reflect the effect of the carbon source structure on the combustion synthesis; Prolonging the preheating time or heat treatment temperature is beneficial to the formation of the ordered intermetallics; The temperature and velocity of the combustion wave are improved, but the disordered alloys are difficult to eliminate with the preheating time prolonged. The compound powders mainly containing ordered Fe3Al intermetallic can be prepared through heat treatment at 750 ℃.     

Combustion condition of diesel engine by cylinder pressure oriented to control

According to demand of electronic control and combustion process measurement in diesel engine, cylinder pressure difference method was introduced to study combustion condition. Combustion parameters such as intensity, phase and heat-releasing rate were used to describe combustion condition. Combustion commencement angle, maximal burst pressure and its angle, and bar-center point in pressure difference curve were selected as character parameters to demonstrate overall combustion charater. The 4100 diesel engine was simulated with GT-POWER software, relation of pressure character index with injection timing and injection quantity was resolved by simulation and measurement of pressure data, and varying trend of each pressure character index with diesel engine emission NOx based on experimental data was analyzed. The results indicated that pressure character index had direct relationship with injection fuel timing and engine output parameter, and pressure character index could be used as combustion condition flag.     

预热对电控喷射甲醇发动机冷起动着火特性的影响

针对电控喷射点燃式甲醇发动机低温起动困难的问题,研究了进气预热、燃油预热和电热塞预热几种辅助预热方式对点燃式甲醇发动机冷起动着火特性的影响,并对几种预热效果进行了评价。研究结果表明,进气预热和燃油预热均不能保证甲醇发动机冷起动可靠着火,采用电热塞预热可保证甲醇发动机低温下可靠起动。     

基于双有机朗肯循环的柴油机余热回收系统性能分析

为了有效回收柴油机的尾气、冷却介质和进气中冷的能量,针对一台六缸柴油机,设计了一套双有机朗肯循环系统,结合Aspen plus软件对该系统进行建模,研究双有机朗肯循环系统的运行性能,分析柴油机燃油经济性.经研究发现,加装双有机朗肯循环系统可有效改善原柴油机的热力学性能和经济性能.在设定的柴油机工况下(转速2 000 r/min、转矩1 313 N·m),双有机朗肯循环系统的总净输出功率最高可达43.65 k W,柴油机-双有机朗肯循环联合系统的有效燃油消耗率和热效率分别可达191.24 g/(k W·h)和37.57%,相比于原柴油机可分别改善13.69%和15.86%.     

进气温度对车用柴油机排放性能的影响

为了研究中冷器冷却性能对增压中冷柴油机排放性能的影响,模拟了不同进气温度对烟度及NOx 排放性能的影响。试验中增压中冷柴油机上的中冷器为模拟中冷器,冷却方式为水冷,通过电磁阀控制冷却水的流量来控制进气温度。选取进气温度分别为35±3 ℃、45±3℃、55±3 ℃,在9个工况点(转速为1000、1500、2500 r/min,负荷为50%、75%、100%)下进行了试验。试验结果表明:随着进气温度的降低,柴油机的排气烟度降低,且随着负荷的增加,烟度降低更为明显;试验工况下NO 排放性能都得到了明显的改善。     

乙醇燃料均质压燃发动机的试验研究

利用进气预热和废气再循环(EGR)控制方法,在由CA6110柴油机改造的单缸发动机上进行了以乙醇为燃料的均质混合气压燃(Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition,HCCI)试验研究。结果表明:在过量空气系数λ=1~9时,发动机可以实现HCCI燃烧,但由过量空气系数和EGR率表示的HCCI工作范围受爆震和部分燃烧的限制。乙醇燃料HCCI燃烧最大平均指示压力可达到0.6 MPa,指示效率可达到60%。在HCCI燃烧中只产生少量的NOx,但是未燃HC和CO的排放较高。     

油冷柴油机的经济性与热负荷研究

提出了一种简单易行的油冷却方法,在一台小型高速直喷式油机上,通过对燃烧室壁面稳态温度和瞬态温度的测试得出结论:油冷后稳态壁温升高,瞬态壁温波动减小;油冷后取得的高温冷却效果,使部分负荷时传热损失减小,燃料经济性得到改善。     

乙醇燃料SI-HCCI-SI燃烧模式发动机的工作区域

为了研究火花点火和均质压燃两种燃烧方式的转换,在一台ZS1105柴油发动机的基础上通过改变压缩比、燃料供给方式和进气系统,采用进气预热成功实现了HCCI和SI两种燃烧方式的转换。试验结果表明:所开发的双燃烧模式发动机运行可靠,可方便地实现火花点火和均质压燃两种燃烧方式的转换,可作为研究这两种燃烧方式转换的平台。确定了乙醇燃料HCCI工作区域的上、下边界判断方法,得到了乙醇燃料SI-HCCI-SI燃烧的工作区域。     

涡轮增压柴油机线性变参数模型

以平均值模型为基础,通过简化各子模型,得到包含4个变量的状态空间模型,并转化为线性变参数模型.4个状态变量分别是柴油机转速、扫气箱压力、排气管压力和压气机功率.以6S60MC型船用柴油机为例进行了仿真计算,并与平均值模型作了对比分析.结果表明,该模型相对简单而准确,可以直接用于基于模型的控制算法的设计分析.     

基于CFD的仿生非光滑表面柴油机螺旋进气道对进气过程质量流率的影响分析

通过在柴油机螺旋进气道表面增加仿生非光滑单元体,运用catia软件和gambit软件进行模型建立及网格划分,应用fluent软件和动网格技术对柴油机工作时的瞬态进气过程进行CFD分析;对比分析得出仿生非光滑表面显著提高了进气过程中进气道内气体的流速和质量流率。     

增压柴油机废气再循环（EGR）系统的优化设计

废气再循环技术（EGR）是解决柴油机NOx排放的有效措施之一．以增压柴油机为研究对象,对比分析了不同废气再循环方式的优劣;解决了部分工况下进排压逆差问题;通过建立带有EGR系统的柴油机模型和实验验证,优化满足要求的EGR系统．研究表明,采用带有合适的进、喉口比例尺寸的文丘里管解决了进排压逆差问题,不同工况下采用合适的EGR率保障了柴油机的工作性能,并有效降低了NOx的排放．