Mechanical Efficiency of Heat Engines

by James R. Senft

Overview

This 2007 book presents a developed general conceptual and basic quantitative analysis as well as the theory of mechanical efficiency of heat engines that a level of ideality and generality compatible with the treatment given to thermal efficiency in classical thermodynamics. This yields broad bearing results concerning the overall cyclic conversion of heat into usable mechanical energy. The work reveals intrinsic limits on the overall performance of reciprocating heat engines. The theory describes the general effects of parameters such as compression ratio and external or buffer pressure on engine output. It also provides rational explanations of certain operational characteristics such as how engines generally behave when supercharged or pressurized. The results also identify optimum geometric configurations for engines operating in various regimes from isothermal to adiabatic and are extended to cover multi-workspace engines and heat pumps. Limited heat transfer due to finite-time effects have also been incorporated into the work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521169288
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/21/2011
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	188
Sales rank:	932,011
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Professor Senft's main research interests lie in the mathematical analysis of mechanisms and heat engines, with an emphasis on the Stirling engine. He has published over forty papers and several books in these areas. He currently teaches at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, but he has also been a visiting research professor at the University of Rome, the University of Washington Joint Center for Graduate Study, the University of Zagreb, and the University of Calgary. He has been a visiting fellow at the Australian National University Institute of Advanced Study, and a visiting scientist at Argonne National Laboratory. He has received research grants from the Charles A. Lindbergh, Fulbright, and the National Science Foundations, and is a consultant to the U.S. Department of Energy and NASA.

Table of Contents

Preface; 1. Energy transfers in cyclic heat engines; 2. Mechanism effectiveness and mechanical efficiency; 3. General efficiency limits; 4. Compression ratio and shaft work; 5. Pressurization effects; 6. Charge effects in ideal stirling engines; 7. Crossley–Stirling engines; 8. Generalized engine cycles and variable buffer pressure; 9. Multi-workspace engines and heat pumps; 10. Optimum stirling engine geometry; 11. Heat transfer effects; Appendices; References; Index.