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Thermodynamic optimization alternatives: minimization of physical size subject to fixed power
Author(s) -
Bejan Adrian
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
international journal of energy research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.808
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1099-114X
pISSN - 0363-907X
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1099-114x(19991025)23:13<1111::aid-er541>3.0.co;2-n
Subject(s) - minification , entropy (arrow of time) , heat exchanger , imperfect , refrigerator car , mathematical optimization , computer science , thermodynamics , mathematics , engineering , mechanical engineering , physics , linguistics , philosophy
This paper explores alternatives to the usual thermodynamic optimization formulation, where the thermodynamic performance of a system is improved subject to physical size constraints (e.g., entropy generation minimization). The alternative is to minimize the physical size subject to specified thermodynamic performance. It is shown that the alternate optimization leads to the same physical design—the same configuration—as the usual optimization. This is demonstrated by means of three examples: power plant model with two heat exchangers, power plant model driven by a hot stream of single‐phase fluid, and refrigerator model with irreversibility due to imperfect insulation. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.