Proposal and energy analysis of a new integrated LHP and organic Rankine cycle for trigeneration

The study examines a novel system that combined a loop heat pipe (LHP) and an organic Rankin cycle (ORC) for cooling, heating and power production (trigeneration) through energy analysis. The system consists of a LHP, an ORC, a heat exchanger and a single-effect absorption chiller. The system is modeled to produce a net cooling, heating and power of around 400 kW. In this paper, energy analysis is used to assess the energetic performance of a novel trigeneration system using loop heat pipe (LHP) and an organic Rankin cycle (ORC). Four cases are considered: electrical-power, cooling cogeneration, heating cogeneration, and trigeneration. In this trigeneration system a single-effect absorption chiller is utilized to provide the necessary cooling energy and a heat exchanger is utilized to provide the necessary heating energy. The trigeneration system considered is examined using one modes of operation. It is: solar and storage mode during the high solar radiation time of the day in june 2014, in Tabriz city. The energy rates are examined. This study reveals that the maximum trigeneration efficiency for the solar and storage mode is 87.25% and LHP is an efficient heat transfer device that could transport thermal energy for a long distance. It carries some advantages over the conventional heat pipe, e.g., gravity-unaffected and flexibility in its design and installation, which makes it particularly suitable for applications in solar systems.