Test facilities for cryogenic and high-temperature applications

Experimental work is key to understanding the systems we investigate.

Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) Test Rig

Working fluids R245fa, R1233zd(E), Novec649 · evaporator pressures 4–15 bar

Investigates the dynamic behaviour of an ORC evaporator under variable boundary conditions. Hot air is supplied by an electric heater (200–400 °C) and the evaporator can be decoupled and swapped to test different heat-exchanger geometries.

High-Temperature Test Rig

Electric furnace up to 1,000 °C · 50 kg/h superheated steam at 600 °C / 35 bar

Reproduces the temperature fluctuations of a waste-to-energy combustion chamber using an electric furnace, supplying superheated steam to a heat exchanger on which PCM-based protection technology is mounted.

High-Grade Cold Energy Storage Test Rig

Cryogenic charge/discharge of a high-grade cold regenerator

Replicates the charge and discharge phases of a high-grade cold regenerator to evaluate how phase-change material (composition and geometry) affects the efficiency of cold-thermal-energy-storage systems.

Materials Lab

PCM formulation, functionalisation & thermo-physical characterisation

Dedicated to PCM formulation, chemical functionalisation and stable nano-filler dispersion, with bulk and low-temperature (cryogenic) characterisation of latent heat, heat capacity and thermal conductivity via a NI data-acquisition system.