Modelling the Regenerator for Multi-Variable Optimisation of the Air-Bottoming Cycle with Excel

Spreadsheet software can be utilised in energy-related courses to enhance the students' problem-solving skills and to train them for future research efforts. In this respect, the present paper demonstrates the capabilities of Microsoft Excel for conducting thermodynamics and heat-transfer optimisation analyses of energy systems by considering the air-bottoming power-generation cycle. The paper presents a model that uses the effectiveness-NTU method to explicitly take into consideration the design particulars of the regenerator, such as its size and overall heat-transfer coefficient. The study, which uses the exact method of analysis, compares the effectiveness-NTU model with the usual effectiveness (epsilon) model for multi-variable optimisation of the air-bottoming cycle.