Fundamental Optima in Thermal Science

This paper addresses a modern trend in heat transfer education, namely, the increasingly important roles played by ‘purpose’ and thermodynamic principles in problem formulation. The answers to such basic questions represent an emerging class of fundamental optima (extrema) that are redefining thermal science. The combined heat transfer and thermodynamics models and analyses are extremely simple and brief. The method is illustrated by means of six examples: maximum rate of ice production, optimal on & off operation of defrosting refrigerators and power plants with heat exchangers that experience fouling, optimal allocation of heat exchanger equipment in power plants and refrigeration plants, and optimal spacing between elements in a fixed volume with natural or forced convection.