Thermo-economic analysis of regenerative heat engines

Analysis of ideal internally reversible regenerative heat engines is presented in this paper, from finite resources point of view. Thermo-economic performances of a regenerative heat engine depend on the nature of polytropic processes and oil the efficiency of regeneration. The study of the effects of regeneration efficiency, on the resource allocation for optimal performance of generalized regenerative engine, is also presented in this paper. Thermo-economic performances of an internally reversible regenerative heat engine, with perfect regeneration, are equivalent to those of internally reversible Carnot, Otto and Joule-Brayton engines. Concurrent employment of the first and the second laws ensure the optimal allocation of finite resources simultaneously with minimization of entropy generation. The operating regions both for operation and design of such regenerative engines are identified from the power-efficiency characteristic. The results are derived without assuming any particular equation of state associated with the working fluid.