Limit Energy Theorem for Gas Flow Systems

Abstract

The paper presents a review of research dealing with the limit energy theorem for fast gas flow systems (FGFS’s) [19, 21, 23, 24, 38] where no mechanical work is performed. FGFS’s include gas-discharge lasers and plasmatrons, chemical gas reactors, vortex tubes, acoustic systems, various gas mixing devices, astrophysical objects, etc. The analysis shows that these flow systems do not belong to the Carnot class. In contrast to the Carnot cycle efficiency, the efficiency of energy conversion in FGFS’s depends on the properties of the working medium, and the conventional FGFS cycle is essentially irreversible. For the chosen class of FGFS’s, the theorem yields a more strictly formulated second law of thermodynamics. Implications of the theorem for various fields of physics and engineering are discussed.