Thermoeconomic Optimization and Parametric Study of an Irreversible Ericsson Heat Engine Cycle

Abstract

The thermoeconomic study of an irreversible Ericsson heat engine with finite heat capacities of the external reservoirs is presented in this paper. The external irreversibilities are due to finite temperature differences between the heat engine and external reservoirs while the internal irreversibility is due to the regenerative heat loss. The thermoeconomic function is defined as the power output divided by the total annual cost of the system. The thermoeconomic function is optimized with respect to the working fluid temperatures and at the optimal operating condition the values for various performance parameters are calculated. The effects of different operating parameters on the performance of the cycle have been studied. It is found that the effects of regenerative-side effectiveness are more than those of the other cycle parameters, not only on the objective function but also on the corresponding power output and thermal efficiency and can also be explained in terms of internal and external irreversibilities associated with the cycle for the same set of operating conditions. It is also found that the effects of the source- and sink-side parameters are nearly equal on all the performance parameters.

Keywords

• thermoeconomic function, irreversible Ericsson cycle, optimal operating condition, power output, thermal efficiency