Thermal efficiency

Abstract: The efficiency of a Carnot engine is treated for the case where the power output is limited by the rates of heat transfer to and from the working substance. It is shown that the efficiency, η, at maximum power output is given by the expression η = 1 − (T2/T1)1/2 where T1 and T2 are the respective temperatures of the heat source and heat sink. It is also shown that the efficiency of existing engines is well described by the above result.

Abstract: The call for the use of biofuels which is being made by most governments following international energy policies is presently finding some resistance from car and components manufacturing companies, private users and local administrations. This opposition makes it more difficult to reach the targets of increased shares of use of biofuels in internal combustion engines. One of the reasons for this resistance is a certain lack of knowledge about the effect of biofuels on engine emissions. This paper collects and analyzes the body of work written mainly in scientific journals about diesel engine emissions when using biodiesel fuels as opposed to conventional diesel fuels. Since the basis for comparison is to maintain engine performance, the first section is dedicated to the effect of biodiesel fuel on engine power, fuel consumption and thermal efficiency. The highest consensus lies in an increase in fuel consumption in approximate proportion to the loss of heating value. In the subsequent sections, the engine emissions from biodiesel and diesel fuels are compared, paying special attention to the most concerning emissions: nitric oxides and particulate matter, the latter not only in mass and composition but also in size distributions. In this case the highest consensus was found in the sharp reduction in particulate emissions.

Abstract: List of Contributors.Acknowledgements.Preface.General Introductory Aspects for Thermal Engineering. Energy Storage Systems. Thermal Energy Storage (TES) Methods. Thermal Energy Storage and Environmental Impact. Thermal Energy Storage and Energy Savings. Heat Transfer and Stratification in Sensible Heat Storage Systems. Modeling of Latent Heat Storage Systems. Heat Transfer with Phase Change in Simple and Complex Geometries. Thermodynamic Optimization of Thermal Energy Storage Systems. Energy and Exergy Analyses of Thermal Energy Storage Systems. Thermal Energy Storage Case Studies.Appendix A -- Conversion Factors.Appendix B -- Thermophysical Properties.Appendix C -- Glossary.Subject Index.

Abstract: Currently, steam generation using solar energy is based on heating bulk liquid to high temperatures. This approach requires either costly high optical concentrations leading to heat loss by the hot bulk liquid and heated surfaces or vacuum. New solar receiver concepts such as porous volumetric receivers or nanofluids have been proposed to decrease these losses. Here we report development of an approach and corresponding material structure for solar steam generation while maintaining low optical concentration and keeping the bulk liquid at low temperature with no vacuum. We achieve solar thermal efficiency up to 85% at only 10 kW m(-2). This high performance results from four structure characteristics: absorbing in the solar spectrum, thermally insulating, hydrophilic and interconnected pores. The structure concentrates thermal energy and fluid flow where needed for phase change and minimizes dissipated energy. This new structure provides a novel approach to harvesting solar energy for a broad range of phase-change applications.

Abstract: This study presents an analysis of the performance of organic Rankine cycle (ORC) subjected to the influence of working fluids. The effects of various working fluids on the thermal efficiency and on the total heat-recovery efficiency have been investigated. It is found that the presence of hydrogen bond in certain molecules such as water, ammonia, and ethanol may result in wet fluid conditions due to larger vaporizing enthalpy, and is regarded as inappropriate for ORC systems. The calculated results reveal that the thermal efficiency for various working fluids is a weak function of the critical temperature. The maximum value of the total heat-recovery efficiency occurs at the appropriate evaporating temperature between the inlet temperature of waste heat and the condensing temperature. In addition, the maximum value of total heat-recovery efficiency increases with the increase of the inlet temperature of the waste heat source and decreases it by using working fluids having lower critical temperature. Analytical results using a constant waste heat temperature or based on thermal efficiency may result in considerable deviation of system design relative to the varying temperature conditions of the actual waste heat recovery and is regarded as inappropriate.