Comparison and Impact of Waste Heat Recovery Technologies on Passenger Car Fuel Consumption in a Normalized Driving Cycle

The purpose of this article was to compare different waste heat recovery system technologies designed for automotive applications. A complete literature review is done and results in two comparative graphs. In the second part, simulation models are built and calibrated in order to assess the fuel consumption reduction that can be achieved on a real driving cycle. The strength of this article is that the models are calibrated using actual data. Finally, those simulations results are analyzed and the Rankine cycle and turbocompound are the two most profitable solutions. However the simulations of the turbocompound shows its limitations because the impact on the exhaust pressure drop is not taken into account in the assessment of the car fuel consumption. Fuel reduction of up to 6% could be achieved, depending on the driving cycle and the waste heat recovery technology.