A análise exergética é aplicada ao ser humano para avaliar a qualidade dos processos de conversão de energia no corpo e seus sistemas, assim como nos processos bioquímicos do metabolismo. Sabe-se que a vida tem um início, um desenvolvimento e um fim, ou seja, um típico exemplo de processo irreversível. Como tanto a idade cronológica como a entropia gerada são grandezas positivas (caminham no mesmo sentido), esta última passa a ser denominada de flecha do tempo (arrow of time). Assim, a partir da aplicação da Segunda Lei da Termodinâmica, torna-se possível desenvolver e aplicar índices baseados no conceito de exergia destruída/entropia gerada e rendimento exergético para diferentes áreas do conhecimento como medicina (comparação de técnicas de hipotermia), esportes (teste ergoespirométrico) e engenharia (conforto térmico). Para tal, propõe-se um modelo do corpo humano que leva em conta a transferência de exergia para o ambiente, a qual é causada pela radiação, convecção, vaporização e respiração. O metabolismo exergético é calculado com base na variação da exergia de três reações de oxidação: carboidratos, lipídeos e aminoácidos. Para condições ambientais transientes, calcula-se a variação temporal da exergia do corpo, e ainda, o máximo trabalho que o corpo pode executar a partir da hidrólise do ATP (adenosina trifosfato). O corpo humano aproveita aproximadamente 60% da exergia dos macronutrientes ingeridos na forma de ATP, 5% é dissipada na forma de calor e o restante destruída. Se o indivíduo estiver em repouso, toda a exergia da molécula de ATP é destruída ou dissipada na forma de calor. A exergia destruída tende a diminuir em função da idade tanto para condição basal como também para atividades físicas. Calculou-se que a exergia destruída durante uma vida equivale a 3091MJ/kg (ou entropia gerada de 10,2MJ/kgK). O rendimento exergético, no entanto, diminui em decorrência da idade para condição basal, porém aumenta durante atividades físicas. Pode-se ainda afirmar que o corpo destrói menos exergia e é mais eficiente quando submetido a condições de alta temperatura operativa e baixa umidade relativa. A análise exergética acarretou em interpretações complementares ao balanço de energia, pois, a partir de sua aplicação, foi possível distinguir corredores de acordo com o nível de atividade física, ou seja, corredores mais bem treinados podem realizar mais trabalho para o mesmo valor de exergia destruída. Finalmente, foi possível identificar diferentes técnicas de hipotermia tomando por base a comparação das eficiências exergéticas. / Exergy analysis is applied to the human being aiming to assess the quality of the energy conversion processes that take place in the body, its several of systems and in biochemical reactions involved in these processes. It is known that life has a beginning, a development and an end, therefore, it is a typical example if irreversible process. As the chronological age and entropic generation are positive quantities (increases in the same direction), this last one is named arrow of time. Hence, it becomes possible to obtain indices based on the concept of destroyed exergy and exergy efficiency for different areas of knowledge such as: medicine (different techniques of hypothermia), sports (ergoespirometric test) and mechanical engineer (thermal comfort). To this end, it is proposed a model of the human body which takes into account the exergy transfer rates to the environment associated with radiation, convection, vaporization and respiration. The metabolism exergy basis is calculated based on the exergy variation of the reactions of oxidation of three reference substances: carbohydrates, lipids and amino acids. For transient environmental conditions it is calculated the exergy variation of the body over time. Moreover, it is possible to calculate the maximum work that can be obtained from the hydrolysis of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). This procedure was applied to a thermodynamic model of human body for basal conditions and to experimental results of runners during different level of physical activities. The human body uses about 60% of the exergy of nutrients to obtain ATP, the rest is destroyed or dissipated as heat. Destroyed exergy rate tends to decrease as a function of lifespan (for basal conditions and during physical activities). The destroyed exergy during lifespan was calculated as 3091MJ/kg (or entropy production of 10.2MJ/kgK). The exergy efficiency decreases as a function of age in basal condition, but it increases during physical activities. The destroyed exergy rate is smaller and the exergy efficiency is greater for high operative temperatures and low relative humidities. The exergy analysis led to additional information regarding the First Law of Thermodynamics, because from its application it was possible to differentiate runners according to their training level, for the same destroyed exergy better trained subjects could perform more work. Finally it was possible to distinguish different techniques of hypothermia from the concept of exergy efficiency.

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Today the selection of drive technology for realizing of moving tasks is made by comparing of investment and energy costs in general. Pneumatic drives are characterized by their low purchase price, but at the same time they show high energy consumption in a comparison with electric drives. This general evaluation leads to the point, that in many cases the optimum drive structure for a certain handling task can’t be found regarding functionality and efficiency. To reach that goal, the dynamic, energy and costs characteristics of the actuator have to be observed and summarized. In this paper the EXonomy analysis is presented as a base for the inter-domain comparison of electric and pneumatic drives. Developed EXonomy approach enables the objective analysis and comparison of electric and pneumatic systems within 3 steps.

The energy efficiency of space heaters is rated by Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) governed by the Department of Energy in the United States which is a simple ratio of usable heat and fuel usage of a single heating device. It doesn't consider the overall performance of the heating system including not only the heating devices but also the characteristics of the building in different applications. The current AFUE method calculates only the energy efficiency which is thermodynamics first law efficiency. In this research, the systematic efficiency of a heating system rather than simple device efficiency has been defined and investigated. The systematic efficiency considers the overall efficiency of the whole heating system and it varies in the different applications even though with the same heating device. So it represents the performance of the system more precisely. Analytical models have been built to calculate both the systematic energy efficiency and exergy efficiency, and to evaluate the systematic energy and exergy efficiency of heating systems for direct fired and indirect fired heaters. Efficiency performances of the systems with these two types of heaters are compared. Sensitivities of input parameters for systematic energy efficiency are studied to show the impact towards systematic energy efficiency. Indoor carbon dioxide concentration level of direct fired heating system is also studied.<br> In a case study, results show that systematic energy efficiency of indirect fired heating system is always constant at heater device efficiency which is 80\% while systematic energy efficiency of direct fired heating system varies from 40%-92% under different condition (heat loss coefficient, ambient temperature and air change requirement), indicating that simple device efficiency is not capable to evaluate the overall performance of heating system. New efficiency method such as systematic energy efficiency used in this research is needed to better describe the performance of the heating system. Results of indoor carbon dioxide level of direct fired heating system, from 1000 to 4500 PPM under different conditions, show that indoor air quality needs to be considered while using direct fired heating.<br>

Assessing the sustainability of nanomanufacturing products and processes has been difficult to achieve using conventional approaches mainly due to an inadequate inventory, large process-to-process variation, and a dearth of relevant toxicology data for nanomaterials. Since these issues are long term in nature, it is required to create hybrid methodologies that can work towards filling the existing gaps. Merging thermodynamic techniques such as the exergy analysis with environmental assessments can help make better, more informed choices while providing an opportunity for process improvement by enabling to correctly quantify efficiency loss through the waste stream, and by locating the exact areas for improvement. A preliminary technique that utilizes environmental assessment feedback during the process design along with an exergy analysis is presented. As a test case, an environmental assessment aided by an exergy analysis was carried out on the electrospinning process for producing polyvinylidene fluoride nanofibers. The areas of greatest concern, both from an environmental as well as a thermodynamic point of view, have been found to be the high energy consumption and the complete loss of solvent during the process of electrospinning. Interestingly, exergy consumption is significantly higher for fibers with a smaller (

This study deals with solidification and melting of some typical encapsulated ice thermal energy storage geometries. Using ANSYS GAMBIT and FLUENT 6.0 software, HTF fluid motion past encapsulated water (ice) geometries, varying HTF flow rates and inlet temperatures are analyzed. The main source of irreversibility was from entropy generation accompanying phase change, although viscous dissipation losses were included. Energy efficiencies were well over 99% for all cases, while exergy efficiencies ranged from 70% to 92%. By far, the most influential variable was the inlet HTF temperature; higher efficiencies resulted from inlet HTF temperatures closer to the solidification temperature of water. / UOIT

The world faces problems with depleting energy resources and the harmful impact of present energy consumption patterns on the environment, and consequently on the global climate and humanity. The concerns regarding global climate change are serious and have resulted in extensive research and developments on alternative, clean energy sources. While many of the available natural energy resources are limited due to their reliability, quality, quantity and density; nuclear energy has the potential to contribute a significant share of large scale energy supply without or little contributing to climate change. Hydrogen production via thermochemical water decomposition is one of the key potential processes for direct utilization of nuclear thermal energy. Thermochemical water splitting with a copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) cycle is a promising process that could be linked with nuclear reactors to decompose water into its constituents, oxygen and hydrogen as a net result, through intermediate copper and chlorine compounds with a net input of water and heat. The process involves a series of closed-loop chemical reactions that does not contribute to any greenhouse gas emissions into the environment. Although some preliminary technical studies of the Cu-Cl cycle have been reported and some small lab scale experiments of individual reactions in the cycle have been carried out, there is still a need to link all the sub-steps of the cycle and build a pilot plant, to facilitate eventual commercialization. Such an experimental set up of overall cycle is lacking, especially to evaluate characteristics of the complete cycle such as energy, exergy and cost effectiveness. Simulation packages, such as Aspen Plus, are useful tools to provide the system designer or operator with design, optimization and operation information before building a pilot plant. In this thesis, process analysis is performed and simulation models are developed using the Aspen Plus simulation package, based on experimental work carried out at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT), the Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), the Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) and other sources. The energy and mass balances, stream flows and properties, the heat exchanger duties and shaft work are calculated. Heat recovery options are assessed to improve thermal management and hence overall efficiency of the Cu-Cl cycle. An integrated heat exchange network is designed to use heat from the process streams efficiently and decrease the external heat demand. The efficiency of the process, based on three, four and five-step cycles, is examined in this thesis. The thermal efficiency of the five-step thermochemical process is calculated as 44%, of the four-step process is 43% and of the three-step process is 41%, based on the lower heating value of hydrogen. Sensitivity analyses are performed to study the effects of various operating parameters on the efficiency, yield, and cost. A parametric study is conducted, and possible efficiency improvements are discussed. The manner is investigated in which exergy-related parameters can be used to minimize the cost of a Cu-Cl thermochemical cycle for hydrogen production. The iterative optimization technique presented requires a minimum of available data and provides effective assistance in optimizing thermal systems, particularly in dealing with complex systems and/or cases where conventional optimization techniques cannot be applied. The principles of thermoeconomics, as embodied in the specific exergy cost (SPECO) and exergy-cost-energy-mass (EXCEM) methods, are used here to determine changes in the design parameters of the cycle that improve the cost effectiveness of the overall system. It is found that the cost rate of exergy destruction varies between $1 and $15 per kilogram of hydrogen produced; and the exergoeconomic factor between 0.5 and 0.02 as the cost of hydrogen rises from $2.8 to $20 per kg of hydrogen produced. The hydrogen cost is inversely related to the exergoeconomic factor, plant capacity and energy/exergy efficiencies. Based on the cycle’s design parameters and conditions the hydrogen production cost is calculated as $3.8/kg hydrogen. Also, an integrated Cu-Cl cycle hydrogen production system, based on nuclear and renewable energy sources, is investigated. Nuclear and renewable energy sources are reviewed to determine the most appropriate option to couple with the Cu-Cl cycle. An environmental impact assessment is conducted and compared to the conventional methods using fossil fuels and other options. Some cost assessment studies of hydrogen production are presented for this integrated system. The results show that hydrogen production cost could drop down to as low as 2.8 $/kg. The results are expected to assist ongoing efforts to increase the economic viability of the Cu-Cl cycle, and to reduce product costs of potential commercial versions of this process. / UOIT

This study deals with the thermodynamic analysis of a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) hybrid system to determine its efficiencies, irreversibilities and performance.The analysis includes a performance investigation of a typical molten carbonate fuel cell stack, an industrial MCFC hybrid system, and an MCFC hybrid system deployed by Enbridge. A parametric study is performed to examine the effects of varying operating conditions on the performance of the system. Furthermore, thermodynamic irreversibilities in each component are determined and an optimization of the fuel cell is conducted. Finally, a simplified and novel method is used for the cost analysis of the Enbridge MCFC hybrid system.An exergy analysis of the hybrid MCFC systems demonstrates that overall efficiencies of up to 60 % are achievable. The maximum exergy destruction was found in components in which chemical reactions occur. In addition, the turboexpander is one of the major contributors to the overall exergy destruction of the system. The cost analysis of the Enbridge system illustrates that by merging the importance of “green” energy and rising costs of carbon offsets, this new technology could be a promising solution and substitute for future energy supply. / UOIT

Gas turbines are the primary technology used for the purpose of power generation nearly everywhere. In this thesis, the Makkah Power Plant, running on a Brayton cycle, is considered for analysis. The peak demand for electric power in the City of Makkah occurs in the middle of the day during the summer and is almost double the off-peak demand. The plant employs turbines of two world renowned manufacturers. However, there are many mechanical and electrical issues related to the overall insufficient operation of the plant. From the balancing of mass, entropy, energy, exergy and cost equations, a greater understanding of the systems as well as their efficiencies is achieved. The parametric study and plant optimization are performed to investigate the effects of the variation of specific input parameters such as fuel mass flow rate, air volume flow rate and compressor inlet air temperature, on the overall operating efficiency of the system. Through this study, the overall plant energetic and exergetic efficiencies are increased by 20% and 12% respectively with cooling down the compressor inlet temperature to 10oC. Furthermore, exergy and exergoeconomic analyses are conducted to obtain that the largest exergy destruction occurs in the combustion chamber, followed by the turbine. The optimization results demonstrate that CO2 emissions can be reduced by increasing the exergetic efficiency and using a low fuel injection rate into the combustion chamber. Finally, this study will assist efforts to understand the thermodynamic losses in the cycle, and to improve efficiency as well as provide future recommendations for better performance, sustainability and lessen environmental impact. / UOIT

The Marnoch Heat Engine (MHE) is a recently patented type of new heat engine that produces electricity from lower temperature heat sources. The MHE utilizes lower temperature differences to generate electricity than any currently available conventional technologies. Heat can be recovered from a variety of sources to generate electricity, i.e., waste heat from thermal power plants, geothermal, or solar energy. This thesis examines the performance of an MHE demonstration unit, which uses air and a pneumatic piston assembly to convert mechanical flow work from pressure differences to electricity. This thesis finds that heat exchangers and the piston assembly do not need to be co-located, which allows benefits of positioning the heat exchangers in various configurations. This thesis presents a laboratory-scale, proof-of-concept device, which has been built and tested at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, Canada. It also presents a thermodynamic analysis of the current system. Based on the MHE results, component modifications are made to improve the thermal performance and efficiency. The current configuration has an efficiency of about thirty percent of the maximum efficiency of a Carnot heat engine operating in the temperature range of 0oC to 100oC. The analysis and experimental studies allow future scale-up of the MHE into a pre-commercial facility for larger scale production of electricity from waste heat. / UOIT