In view of the the low efficiency of the ocean thermal energy conversion(OTEC), this paper makes a theoretical analysis of the Rankine cycle based on the first law and the second law of thermodynamics, and a mathematical model for the individual equipment of the cycle is built. Through the calculations of the cycle thermal efficiency and the net power output, the variations of the thermal efficiency and the net power output against the turbine inlet pressure, the superheat and the condensation temperature are obtained. A 15 kW ocean thermal energy conversion system with the Rankine cycle is constructed and tested, and the variations of the thermal efficiency against various parameters under the simulated working conditions of the ocean temperature difference are obtained through analyzing the experiment results. The consistency between the theoretical calculations and the experimental results is verified.

ocean thermal energy conversion  /  thermal efficiency  /  net output