Energy efficient waste heat recovery from an engine exhaust system

The purpose of this thesis was to design and demonstrate the effectiveness of a new style of heat exchanger for waste heat recovery. The new design sought to optimize heat recovery from a gas turbine engine exhaust as well as assist with flow turning through a bend in the exhaust duct in order to minimize back-pressure increases. The analysis of the design was based around the use of the Allison 250 gas turbine engine. An analysis of the engine was performed to determine baseline operating parameters to be used in ANSYS CFD models. The research for this thesis also included a comparative analysis of three different waste heat recovery cycles to determine which cycle would function best on US Navy ships. The analysis compared the three cycles while assuming the exhaust flow is from an LM2500 gas turbine engine, similar to the engines currently powering US Navy ships. The design of a new heat exchanger with the intent of minimizing any gains to back-pressure as well as the analysis of the various waste heat recovery cycles allowed this thesis to make recommendations to the Navy about which cycle should be used on US Navy ships through the new heat exchanger.http://archive.org/details/energyefficientw1094551630Lieutenant, United States NavyApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited