An experimental and numerical analysis of the performances of a Wankel steam expander

In this work a study on a volumetric expander based on the Wankel mechanism was carried out. The aim of this study was to develop a lumped parameters numerical model able to predict the brake effective torque and working fluid consumption of the expander. This model was validated by comparison with experimental results obtained using steam as working fluid. This model allowed to trace the trends of mechanical and thermal losses versus rotating speed and inlet pressure. The experimental results encouraged the need for a further development of this expander, and showed the capability of the numerical model to predict the effective performances of the device.