Innovative controls and topologies for maximum power in thermo-chemical systems

This paper treats innovative aspects of power optimization for energy converters, such like thermal, solar and chemical engines. Thermodynamic analyses lead to converter's efficiency and limiting power. While optimization of steady systems requires using of differential calculus or Lagrange multipliers, dynamic optimization involves variational calculus and dynamic programming. The primary result of static optimization is the limiting value of power, whereas that of the dynamic optimization is a finite-rate work which generalizes the classical exergy. The generalizing quantity depends on thermal coordinates and a dissipation index, h, i.e. the Hamiltonian of the problem of minimum entropy production. It implies stronger bounds on work delivered or supplied than the reversible work. In reacting systems the chemical affinity constitutes a prevailing counterpart of the thermal efficiency.