A UNIVERSAL MODEL FOR STUDYING THE PERFORMANCE OF CARNOT-LIKE ENGINES AT MAXIMUM POWER CONDITIONS

摘要

A universal model for studying the performance of endoreversible heat engines with heat leak is presented. By exploiting finite-time thermodynamics, the new model allows detailed analyses of Carnot-like engines under combined modes of heat supply and/or release. Many established laws and major conclusions derived in several references are shown to represent very special cases of the new formulation. Furthermore, as a special case of the general model, the performance of endoreversible heat engines under combined conduction, convection, and radiation heat transfer modes is studied and generated results are displayed graphically.