FINITE-TIME OPTIMIZATIONS OF A HEAT ENGINE

We study the power and efficiency of a finite-time heat engine. We consider an endoreversible Carnot heat engine coupled to heating and cooling fluids and determine the maximum power output and efficiency to obtain a bound on the power-conversion systems. While the maximum power and the operating temperatures of the heat engine are functions of the heat-reservoir temperatures, heat-reservoir capacity rates and heat-transfer rates, the efficiency at maximum power depends primarily on the initial temperatures of the heating and cooling fluids. The efficiency at maximum power provides a measure of the power available in a practical heat engine. © 1990.