Title: Evolution of adiabatic availability and its depletion through irreversible processes

Authors: Sergio Ugarte, Hameed Metghalchi

Addresses: Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA. ' Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department, Northeastern University, 360 Huntington Ave., Boston, MA 02115, USA

Abstract: Adiabatic availability, a property, is defined as the largest work that can be done by a system in an adiabatic, constant mass and volume process; therefore it is a more inclusive concept that includes all other definitions of maximum work. Adiabatic availability of all systems at any state is larger than or equal to zero. Adiabatic availability of a system in thermodynamic equilibrium state is zero. Adiabatic availability of a composite made of a system and a reservoir is the same as the available energy (exergy) of the system with respect to the given reservoir. Change and destruction of adiabatic availability for different reversible and irreversible processes have been investigated and evaluated in this paper.

Keywords: adiabatic availability; available energy; exergy analysis; exergy destruction; history; evolution; maximum work; second law analysis; thermodynamics; thermodynamic equilibrium; reversible processes; irreversible processes.

DOI: 10.1504/IJEX.2005.006983

International Journal of Exergy, 2005 Vol.2 No.2, pp.109 - 119

Published online: 01 May 2005 *

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