Prime Mover Capacity Optimization and Thermodynamic Performance Analysis of Internal Combustion Engine Based CCHP System

In this research, a solar hybrid combined cooling heating and power (CCHP) system is proposed considering the different scenarios of Prime Movers (PMs) and the part-load performance of PMs is validated by the designed values from the manufacturer of Volvo. Moreover, a multi-optimization model based on a genetic algorithm is developed in order to select both the most promising performance PM and the most cost-effectiveness, environmentally friendly number of collectors for the proposed CCHP system, simultaneously. Then the hourly performance of this solar hybrid CCHP is determined through a case study of a hotel in Shanghai. Results show that the highest efficiency of the PM with larger capacity has the most promising performance and the collector number of 90 turns out to be a superior value for the hotel building based on the primary energy saving ratio of 61.61%. Moreover, on a typical summer day, the recovered waste heat and the solar energy can provide all the thermal energy demands, while, an auxiliary boiler should be started to fulfill the energy gap in both typical transition and winter days. From the simulation result, the CO2 emissions can be reduced by 856.2 t/a due to the solar energy introduced into the system. Besides, the dynamic investment payback period will change from 3.01 years to 3.56 years when the fuel price (Pfuel) ranges from 0.8Pfuel to1.2Pfuel.