Investigation on the optimal performance and design parameters of an irreversible solar-driven Braysson heat engine

An irreversible solar-driven Braysson thermal engine has been investigated, in which finite rate heat transfer with the radiation–convection mode from the high-temperature reservoir to the heat engine and the convection mode from the heat engine to the heat sink, and irreversible adiabatic processes are taken into account. Based on the thermodynamic analysis method, the analytic expressions of the power output and efficiency of the Braysson heat engine are derived. By using numerical value calculation, the effects of the isobaric temperature ratio, internal irreversibility parameter, temperature ratio of the thermal reservoirs as well as the allocation parameters involving the heat-transfer coefficients, and areas on the performance characteristics of the Braysson heat engine are analysed and discussed in detail. The results obtained in this paper are more general than the related conclusions published in the literature and may provide some parameter design reference for solar-driven heat engines.