Effect of Volume Ratio of Heat Rejection Process on Performance of an Atkinson Cycle

The objective of this study is to analyze the effect of volume ratio of heat rejection process on the performance of dual cycle. Using finite-time thermodynamics, the relations between the volume ratio of heat rejection, the thermal efficiency, the power output, the heat transfer losses, the friction power and the compression ratio for an air standard Atkinson cycle have been derived. In the model, the nonlinear relation between the specific heats of working fluid and its temperature, the frictional loss and heat leakage loss are considered. The results show that the power output and the thermal efficiency first increase with the increase of volume ratio of heat rejection process and then start to decrease. The optimum value of the volume ratio of heat rejection which maximizes the power output is higher than that which maximizes the thermal efficiency, while the optimum value of the compression ratio which maximizes the power output is lower than that which maximizes the thermal efficiency. The results obtained in the present study provide guidance to the performance evaluation and improvement for practical internal combustion engines.