The Method of Entropy Generation Minimization

The objective of this chapter is to review a modern transformation in the teaching, research and practice of energy engineering: the increasingly important roles played by thermodynamics (especially the second law) in problem formulation, modeling and design optimization. This methodology is known as thermodynamic optimization, or entropy generation minimization (EGM) and was first recognized in a 1982 book [1]. The most recent review [2] shows that the use of this method is expanding at an accelerated pace, and that it has recently acquired alternate names such as finite time or endoreversible thermodynamics. In this chapter we illustrate the application of the method through examples selected from refrigeration.