Comparative Performance Analysis of a Simplified Curzon-Ahlborn Engine.

This paper presents a finite-time thermodynamic optimization based on three different optimization criteria: Maximum Power Output (MP), Maximum Efficient Power (MEP), and Maximum Power Density (MPD), for a simplified Curzon-Ahlborn engine that was first proposed by Agrawal. The results obtained for the MP are compared with those obtained using MEP and MPD criteria. The results show that when a Newton heat transfer law is used, the efficiency values of the engine working in the MP regime are lower than the efficiency values ( τ ) obtained with the MEP and MPD regimes for all values of the parameter τ = T 2 / T 1 , where T 1 and T 2 are the hot and cold temperatures of the engine reservoirs ( T 2 < T 1 ) , respectively.