SIMULATION AND ANALYSIS OF A SOLAR-POWERED SUPERCRITICAL ORGANIC RANKINE CYCLE AND INTEGRATION WITH AN ELECTRIC DISTRIBUTION SYSTEMS

• Grant number: 22/09748-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2022
• End date: September 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Electrical Engineering - Power Systems
• Principal Investigator: José Carlos de Melo Vieira Júnior
• Grantee: João Vitor Silva Colnago
• Host Institution: Escola de Engenharia de São Carlos (EESC). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Currently, there are two main types of solar power generation: photovoltaic cells and solar collectors. While photovoltaic cells use the photovoltaic effect to generate electricity, solar collectors concentrate the heat of the Sun's rays on a tube in order to heat a fluid. In the context of solar collectors, the Rankine Cycle is one of the possible cycles that use this heated working fluid, being especially efficient in small- and medium-scale applications. In this project, one of these systems will be analyzed, with the working fluid of the cycle being supercritical CO2, chosen because of its advantages over other refrigerants, such as its low price and the fact that it is natural, i.e., less polluting than the other refrigerants used for this purpose. The simulation of the thermal system will be programmed in Python and on the program EES (Engineering Equation Solver), with the simulation of the solar incidence on the plates throughout the day, and an analysis of the turbine design. The focus is on modeling the system in steady state, and after the simulation of the thermal system is completed, it will be integrated into a low-voltage power distribution grid, in order to analyze the impacts of variations in the thermal system on the voltages and currents of the electrical system. For the analysis of the electrical system, the program OpenDSS will be employed.