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Thermodynamic Analysis and Multi-Objective Optimization of Solar Heat Engines

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Abstract

Detailed performance analysis for a thermal system using a generalized irreversible solar-driven heat engine model is performed. The heat engine (HE) model is formed by the first and the second laws of thermodynamics and economical considerations. Also, the HE is optimized under the thermo-economic objective function (TEOF), power output, and overall efficiency criteria. The TEOF is used to evaluate the investment, including lost exergy, and operating and maintenance costs together. It is defined as the power output per unit total cost. In the HE model, investment and operating and maintenance costs are regarded as proportional to the power output of the heat engine, while lost exergy cost is regarded as proportional to the entropy generation rate. In thermal system designs, various scenarios are considered regarding size and configuration limits. To fulfill the requirements, performance output parameters can be evaluated with weighing factors. In the HE model, the hot surface heat transfer mechanisms are considered as both radiation and convection, but the cold surface heat transfer mechanism is considered as convection, only. Also, the thermo-economic performance is evaluated considering heat losses. Besides overall efficiency and operational temperatures of the hot working fluid have been discoursed in detail. HE model performance data and optimized results are computed numerically. And finally, an artificial neural network model is presented for an alternative solution to compute HE performance data with less effort and less input data.

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Abbreviations

a :

Investment cost parameter (NCU/year W)

A :

Heat transfer area (m2)

ANN:

Artificial neural networks

b :

Operating and maintenance cost parameter (NCU/year W)

c :

Total cost parameter (NCU/year W)

C :

Cost (NCU/year)

d :

Lost exergy cost parameter (NCU/year W)

\( \dot{C}_{\text{I}} \) :

Internal conductance

F :

Objective function

f :

Economical parameter c/(c + d)

HE:

Heat engine

NCU:

National currency unit

R :

Internal irreversibility parameter

SD-HE:

Solar-driven heat engine

SD-ExCR:

Solar-driven external combustion regenerative

T :

Temperature (K)

TEOF:

Thermo-economic objective function

U :

Overall heat transfer coefficient (W/m2 K for convection or W/m2 K4 for radiation)

\( \dot{Q} \) :

Rate of heat transfer (W)

\( \dot{W} \) :

Power output (W)

X :

\( = \frac{{T_{X} }}{{T_{\text{coll}} }} \)

Y :

\( = \frac{{T_{Y} }}{{T_{\text{amb}} }} \)

β :

\( \frac{{U_{\text{HR}} }}{{U_{\text{HC}} }}T_{\text{H}}^{3} \)

μ :

\( \frac{{T_{\text{coll}} }}{{T_{\text{amb}} }} \)

ψ :

\( = \frac{{U_{\text{C,amb}} }}{{U_{\text{C,coll}} }} \)

η :

Overall efficiency

ai:

Annual investment

amb:

Heat sink

aper:

Aperture

C,amb:

Low-temperature side convection

coll:

Heat source

C,coll:

High-temperature side convection

loss:

Leakage

max:

Maximum

mp:

Maximum power

mef:

Maximum efficiency

R:

Ratio

R,amb:

Low-temperature side radiation

R.coll:

High-temperature side radiation

sc:

Solar collector

T,amb:

Total heat rate from the cold reservoir

T,coll:

Total heat rate from the hot reservoir

X :

Warm working fluid

Y :

Cold working fluid

*:

Maximum thermo-economic function

–:

Dimensionless

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA-GEBIP) and The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Besiktas, 34349, Istanbul, Turkey

    Yasin Ust, Ibrahim Ozsari, Feyyaz Arslan & Aykut Safa

  2. Barbaros Hayrettin Naval Architecture and Maritime Faculty, Iskenderun Technical University, Iskenderun, 31200, Hatay, Turkey

    Feyyaz Arslan

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  1. Yasin Ust
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Correspondence to Ibrahim Ozsari.

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Ust, Y., Ozsari, I., Arslan, F. et al. Thermodynamic Analysis and Multi-Objective Optimization of Solar Heat Engines. Arab J Sci Eng 45, 9669–9684 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13369-020-04880-1

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