Characterisation of additive manufactured small radial flow Ti-6AL-4V turbines for application in Organic Rankine Cycles

Abstract

Due to the use of fossil fuels globally, there has been a significant increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The increase in greenhouse gas emissions should be limited as much as possible. More efficient use of fossil fuels can assist with curbing this increase in greenhouse gas emissions. One method to increase efficiency of machines that use fossil fuels, is to recover some of the waste heat and convert it into energy. The Organic Rankine Cycle can be used for this purpose. For smaller scale applications the turbines used in these applications can be quite difficult to manufacture. Using additive manufacturing, turbines can be created for use in small scale Organic Rankine Cycles. Using additive manufacturing, three turbines were manufactured from titanium alloy Ti-6Al-4V. These turbines were tested experimentally to characterize their performance. The turbines were tested at of design conditions due to limitations to the compressed air supply. Additive manufacturing provides an effective method to produce small scale turbines for use in Organic Rankine Cycles.