EXERGY VERSUS ENERGY ANALYSIS: ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES IN TEACHING OF THERMODYNAMICS

In a course of thermodynamics, in general, and gas turbine analysis, in particular as stand alone or within a cogeneration situation, teaching within the concepts of energy or exergy has become controversial particularly since most teachers of thermodynamics at the undergraduate level are not too familiar with the advantages of exergy analysis and thus do not cover the material from that point of view. In this paper, we will go through the pedagogical implications of teaching thermodynamics using both approaches and attempt to show and convince people that exergetic analyses are superior to any other approach in the teaching of thermodynamics. The bottom line and the ultimate goal is the precise teaching of the subject matter.