Rankine cycle for a vehicle

1. A vehicle comprising:

a power circuit having in sequential fluid communication: a pump, an evaporator, an expander, and a condenser configured to transfer heat between a working fluid and ambient air, wherein the evaporator is configured to transfer heat from an engine coolant, a battery coolant, an engine lubricant, a transmission lubricant, an exhaust gas and an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system to the working fluid, and wherein the condenser is positioned in a front region of a body of the vehicle, the front region configured to receive ambient air when the vehicle is in motion; and

a generator driven by the expander; and

an air-conditioning circuit for a vehicle cabin having another condenser and containing a refrigerant fluid, wherein the another condenser is positioned within the front region and configured to transfer heat between the refrigerant fluid and ambient air, the another condenser being adjacent to the condenser of the power circuit, the air-conditioning circuit being independent of the power circuit;

wherein the condenser of the power circuit has a first air-cooled portion and a second air-cooled portion, the first and second portions configured to transfer heat between the working fluid and ambient air;

wherein the another condenser is positioned between and adjacent to the first portion and the second portion of the condenser of the power circuit; and

wherein the another condenser of the air-conditioning circuit, the first portion and the second portion of the condenser of the power circuit are arranged along a longitudinal axis of the vehicle.

2. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising an engine having an exhaust system;

wherein the evaporator is configured to transfer heat between the exhaust gas in the exhaust system and the working fluid.

3. The vehicle of claim 2 wherein the evaporator further comprises a heat exchanger for each of the engine coolant, the battery coolant, the engine lubricant, the transmission lubricant, the exhaust gas in the EGR system, and the exhaust gas in the exhaust system.

4. The vehicle of claim 2 wherein the exhaust system has a valve configured to control a flow of the exhaust gas between the evaporator and a bypass conduit.

5. The vehicle of claim 1 further comprising a traction battery in electrical communication with the generator; and

an electrical machine adapted to provide torque to a traction wheel and in electrical communication with the traction battery.

6. A vehicle process comprising:

pumping a working fluid in a closed loop thermodynamic cycle formed by a power circuit;

heating the working fluid using waste heat from a recirculating fluid in a vehicle system;

controlling a flow of engine exhaust gas through an evaporator in the cycle, a bypass line, and a combination of the evaporator and bypass line;

heating the working fluid with any engine exhaust gas flowing through the evaporator;

driving a turbine using the working fluid to rotate an electrical power generator; and

cooling the working fluid in a condenser of the cycle using ambient air received through an opening in a frontal region of a body of the vehicle, wherein the working fluid is cooled in a first portion of the condenser of the cycle using ambient air received through the opening and cooled in a second portion of the condenser of the cycle using ambient air received through the opening, the first portion of the condenser positioned between the opening and the second portion of the condenser, an air-conditioning condenser containing a refrigerant positioned between and adjacent to the first and second portions of the condenser, the air-conditioning condenser and the first and second portions being arranged along a longitudinal axis of the vehicle, the air-conditioning condenser provided in an air-conditioning circuit that is independent of the power circuit.

7. The process of claim 6 wherein the working fluid is heated to a predetermined vapor phase by the recirculating fluid and the exhaust gas; and

wherein controlling the flow of exhaust gas through the evaporator further comprises maintaining the predetermined vapor phase of the working fluid after heating in the cycle by (i) increasing the flow of exhaust gas through the evaporator as a temperature of the recirculating fluid decreases, and (ii) decreasing the flow of exhaust gas through the evaporator as the temperature of the working fluid increases.

8. A vehicle comprising:

a working fluid power circuit having: a pump, an evaporator receiving heat from engine exhaust gas and a recirculating fluid, an expander, and a condenser having first and second air-cooled portions arranged sequentially; and

an independent refrigerant air-conditioning circuit having an air-cooled air-conditioning condenser positioned between and adjacent to the first and second portions, the air-conditioning condenser and the first and second portions arranged along a longitudinal vehicle axis.

9. The vehicle of claim 8 further comprising:

an internal combustion engine having an exhaust system containing engine exhaust gas;

a generator driven by the expander;

a traction battery in electrical communication with the generator; and

an electrical machine to provide torque to a traction wheel and in electrical communication with the traction battery.

10. The vehicle of claim 9 wherein the electrical machine is coupled to the engine by an upstream clutch and is coupled to the traction wheel via a transmission.

11. The vehicle of claim 8 wherein the evaporator comprises a first heater and a second heater arranged sequentially in the power circuit.

12. The vehicle of claim 11 further comprising an exhaust bypass associated with one of the first and second heaters, and a valve adapted to control engine exhaust gas through the one of the first and second heaters.

13. The vehicle of claim 8 wherein the power circuit further comprises a preheater to exchange heat between working fluid in the power circuit downstream of the expander and working fluid in the power circuit downstream of the pump.

14. The vehicle of claim 8 further comprising a recirculating system containing the recirculating fluid to remove waste heat from a vehicle component, the vehicle component being one of an engine, a transmission, and a battery, and the recirculating fluid is one of an engine coolant, an engine lubrication fluid, a transmission lubrication fluid, and a battery coolant; and

an engine exhaust system having a valve configured to controllably provide waste heat from engine exhaust gas to the evaporator to evaporate the working fluid in the power circuit.

15. The vehicle of claim 8 further comprising an exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) system wherein the recirculating fluid is EGR gas; and

an engine exhaust system having a valve configured to controllably provide waste heat from engine exhaust gas to the evaporator to evaporate working fluid in the power circuit.