Turbocharged Diesel Engine Power Production Enhancement: Proposing a Novel Thermal-Driven Supercharging System based on Kalina Cycle

In this paper, a novel thermal driven supercharging system for downsizing of a turbocharged diesel engine is proposed. Furthermore, Kalina cycle has been used as waste heat recovery system to run the mounted supercharging system. The waste heat of air in engine exhaust and intake pipes is converted to cooling and mechanical power by Kalina cycle. The mechanical power produced by Kalina cycle is transferred to an air compressor to charge extra air to the engine for generating more power. This feature can be used for downsizing the turbo-charged heavy duty diesel engine. In addition, the heat rejected from engine intercooler is transferred to Kalina cycle vapor generator component, and part of engine exhaust waste heat is also used for superheating Kalina working fluid before entering engine. Then, first and second law analysis are performed to assess the operation of the engine in different conditions. Moreover, an economic model is provided for the Kalina cycle which is added to engine as supplementary component. Finally, simple payback and Net present value methods are used for economic evaluation of the added supplementary system. According to the results, mounting the novel waste heat driven air charging system has resulted in increment of air mass flow rate which leads to extra power generation (between 9 kW and 25 kW). The payback period and profitability index of the project are approximately 3.81 year and 1.26, consecutively.