Abstract: In this study, performance analysis and ecological
optimization for an Atkinson engine with constant-temperature reservoirs are
conducted. The ecological objective function is defined as the power-output
minus the loss rate of availability. The parameters that maximize the
ecological objective function and make the performance optimum are investigated.
The results show that a maximum ecological function (MEF) exists and the
corresponding power-output at the MEF condition is slightly lower than the
maximum power-output. With the increase of the number of transfer units of the
hot-side heat exchanger (or the cold-side heat exchanger the MEF and the power-output at the
MEF condition increase. The thermal efficiency at the MEF condition is lower
than the maximum thermal efficiency that can be obtained. For a fixed the thermal efficiency at the MEF
condition increases dramatically at lower while it increases slightly at
larger In addition, the thermal efficiency
at the MEF condition gets larger as becomes greater. When the sum of and is fixed, the variation of the
thermal efficiency at the MEF condition for various ratio is not obvious.
