The $P{\Phi}$-Compromise Function as a criterion of merit to optimize irreversible thermal engines

Abstract

Several authors have proposed out of equilibrium thermal engines models, allowing optimization processes involving a trade off between the power output of the engine and its dissipation. These operating regimes are achieved by using objective functions such as the ecological function ($EF$). In order to measure the quality of the balance between these characteristic functions, it was proposed a relationship where power output and dissipation are evaluated in the above mentioned $EF$-regime and they are compared with respect to its values at the regime of maximum power output. We called this relationship "Compromise Function" and only depends of a parameter that measures the quality of the compromise. Thereafter this function was used to select a value of the mentioned parameter to obtain the generalization of some different objective functions (generalizations of ecological function, omega function and efficient power), by demanding that these generalization parameters maximize the above mentioned functions. In this work we demonstrate that this function can be used directly as an objective function: the "$P{\Phi}$-Compromise Function" ($C_{P\Phi}$), also that the operation modes corresponding to the maximum Generalized Ecological Function, maximum Generalized Omega Function and maximum Efficient power output, are special cases of the operation mode of maximum $C_{P\Phi}$, having the same optimum high reduced temperature, then the characteristic functions will be the same in any of the above three working regimes, independent of the algebraic complexity of each generalized function. These results are presented for two different models of an irreversible energy converter: a non-endoreversible and a totally irreversible, both with heat leakage.