WASTE HEAT RECOVERY FLUIDS FOR HEAVY-DUTY TRANSPORTATION BOTTOMING CYCLE SYSTEMS: A SUMMARY REPORT

Working fluids used in Rankine bottoming cycle systems for heat recovery from long-haul trucks, marine vessels, and railroad locomotives are examined. Rankine bottoming cycle systems improve fuel economy by converting the exhaust heat from the prime mover into useful power. The report assesses fluid property requirements on the basis of previous experience with bottoming cycle systems. Also, the exhaust gas characteristics for the transportation modes of interest are summarized and compared. Candidate working fluids are discussed with respect to their potential for use in Rankine bottoming cycle systems. Analytical techniques are presented for calculating the thermodynamic properties of single-component working fluids. The resulting equations have been incorporated into a computer code for predicting the performance of Rankine bottoming cycle systems. In evaluating candidate working fluids, the code requires the user to input only a minimal amount of fluid property data.