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Abstract
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Supplying electrical power for pumps in irrigation systems is a costly and challenging procedure, especially in remote or rural areas. The objective of the current investigation is the suggestion and analysis of a solar-driven Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) that provides the required power of a pressurized irrigation system. Parabolic trough collectors were used as a heat source for feeding the ORC with heat, while the ORC produces the proper electricity for moving the pumping system. A developed mathematical model has been used for the simulation of the solar-driven power system. The thermodynamic model of the ORC has been developed in Engineering Equation Solver. Totally, eight different organic fluids were tested in the ORC, and the high pressure of the ORC was optimized in all of the cases. The optimal performance was found with MDM as the working fluid in the ORC with a system efficiency of 12.19%. The minimum collecting area was evaluated to be about 22.6 m2, providing 2.2 kW net electricity for the pressurized irrigation system. Moreover, the collector efficiency, the thermodynamic efficiency, and the storage efficiency were respectively obtained as 47.85%, 27.46%, and 92.72% for the optimum design.
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