Finite-time thermoeconomic optimization of a non endoreversible heat engine model

Abstract

Within the context of Finite-Time Thermodynamics (FTT), we study the thermoeconomics of a simplified non-endoreversible thermal power plant model (the so-called Novikov engine). In our study, we use different heat transfer laws: the so called Newton's law of cooling, the Stefan-Boltzmann radiation law, the Dulong-Petit's law and another phenomenological heat transfer law. We use two FTT optimization criteria: the maximum power regime (MP) and the so-named modified ecological criterion for performance analysis. This last criterion leads the engine model towards a mode of performance that appreciably diminishes the engine's wasted energy. It is shown that under ecological conditions the plant dramatically reduces the amount of heat rejected to the environment, and a loss of profit is translated into a better usage of fuel such that the heat rejected towards the environment is remarkably reduced compared to that of a maximum power regime. Besides, we analyze the effect on the reduction of power output and the optimal efficiencies in terms of an internal irreversibility parameter that comes from the Clausius inequality which characterizes the degree of internal irreversibility.