Off-design performance analysis of a closed-cycle ocean thermal energy conversion system with solar thermal preheating and superheating |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Mechanical, Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Rhode Island, RI 02881, USA;2. Deep Ocean Water Application Research Center, Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology, Gangwon 245-7, South Korea;3. College of Business Administration, University of Rhode Island, RI 02881, USA;4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Utah, UT 84112, USA;1. Department of Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, National Kaohsiung Marine University, Taiwan, ROC;2. Department of Marine Engineering, National Kaohsiung Marine University, Taiwan, ROC;1. College of Engineering, Ocean University of China, 238 Songling Road, Laoshan District, Qingdao 266100, China;2. Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0LZ, United Kingdom;1. College of Engineering, Ocean University of China, 238 Songling Road, Laoshan District, Qingdao 266100, China;2. Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow G4 0LZ, United Kingdom;1. Ocean Thermal Energy Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 54100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;2. Vehicle System Engineering, Malaysia-Japan International Institute of Technology, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 54100 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia;1. Department of Refrigeration and Air-conditioning Engineering, College of Engineering, Pukyong National University, San 100, Yongdang-dong, Nam-gu, Busan, 608-739, South Korea;2. Department of Mechanical System Engineering, College of Engineering, Pukyong National University, San 100, Yongdang-dong, Nam-gu, Busan, 608-739, South Korea;3. Seawater Utilization Plant Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Ships & Ocean Engineering, 124-32 Simcheungsu-gil, Jukwang-myeon, Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do, 219-822, South Korea;1. Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Oshawa, ON, Canada;2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, KFUPM, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia |
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| Abstract: | This article reports the off-design performance analysis of a closed-cycle ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) system when a solar thermal collector is integrated as an add-on preheater or superheater. Design-point analysis of a simple OTEC system was numerically conducted to generate a gross power of 100 kW, representing a base OTEC system. In order to improve the power output of the OTEC system, two ways of utilizing solar energy are considered in this study: (1) preheating of surface seawater to increase its input temperature to the cycle and (2) direct superheating of the working fluid before it enters a turbine. Obtained results reveal that both preheating and superheating cases increase the net power generation by 20–25% from the design-point. However, the preheating case demands immense heat load on the solar collector due to the huge thermal mass of the seawater, being less efficient thermodynamically. The superheating case increases the thermal efficiency of the system from 1.9% to around 3%, about a 60% improvement, suggesting that this should be a better approach in improving the OTEC system. This research provides thermodynamic insight on the potential advantages and challenges of adding a solar thermal collection component to OTEC power plants. |
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| Keywords: | Ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) Solar thermal collection Thermodynamic system analysis |
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