Maximizing Efficient Power for an Irreversible Porous Medium Cycle with Nonlinear Variation of Working Fluid’s Specific Heat

Pengchao Zang, Lingen Chen () and Yanlin Ge
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Pengchao Zang: Institute of Thermal Science and Power Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China
Lingen Chen: Institute of Thermal Science and Power Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China
Yanlin Ge: Institute of Thermal Science and Power Engineering, Wuhan Institute of Technology, Wuhan 430205, China

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-12

Abstract: Considering the specific heat characteristics of working fluid and existence of various losses in a porous medium (PM) cycle, this paper applies finite time thermodynamic theory to study its efficient power performance with nonlinear variable specific heat model. Range of the cycle pre-expansion ratio is obtained by solving the equation, and PM cycle is converted to Otto cycle by choosing appropriate pre-expansion ratio. Influences of pre-expansion ratio, specific heat characteristics, temperature ratio, and various losses on cycle performances are investigated. Thermal efficiencies are compared at operating points of the maximum power output and efficient power. The results show that PM cycle has better performance than Otto cycle. Under certain conditions of parameters, thermal efficiencies at the maximum efficient power and maximum power output operating points are 50.45% and 47.05%, respectively, and the former is 7.22% higher than the latter. The engine designed with the maximum efficient power as the criterion can improve thermal efficiency by losing less power output. The results of this paper can guide parameters selection of actual PM heat engine.

Keywords: porous medium cycle; finite time thermodynamics; efficient power; nonlinear variable specific heat; optimal performance; performance comparison (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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