Maximum power point characteristics of generalized heat engines with finite time and finite heat capacities.

Abstract

We revisit the problem of optimal power extraction in four-step cycles (two adiabatic and two heat-transfer branches) when the finite-rate heat transfer obeys a linear law and the heat reservoirs have finite heat capacities. The heat-transfer branch follows a polytropic process in which the heat capacity of the working fluid stays constant. For the case of ideal gas as working fluid and a given switching time, it is shown that maximum work is obtained at Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency. Our expressions clearly show the dependence on the relative magnitudes of heat capacities of the fluid and the reservoirs. Many previous formulae, including infinite reservoirs, infinite-time cycles, and Carnot-like and non-Carnot-like cycles, are recovered as special cases of our model.