The Role of Internal Irreversibilities in the Performance and Stability of Power Plant Models Working at Maximum ϵ-Ecological Function

Abstract

Abstract The proposal of models that account for the irreversibilities within the core engine has been the topic of interest to quantify the useful energy available during its conversion. In this work, we analyze the energetic optimization and stability (local and global) of three power plants, nuclear, combined-cycle, and simple-cycle ones, by means of the Curzon–Ahlborn heat engine model which considers a linear heat transfer law. The internal irreversibilities of the working fluid measured through the r-parameter are associated with the so-called “uncompensated Clausius heat.” In addition, the generalization of the ecological function is used to find operating conditions in three different zones, which allows to carry out a numerical analysis focused on the stability of power plants in each operation zone. We noted that not all power plants reveal stability in all the operation zones when irreversibilities are considered through the r-parameter on real-world power plants. However, an improved stability is shown in the zone limited by the maximum power output and maximum efficiency regimes.