Entransy dissipation, entransy-dissipation-based thermal resistance and optimization of one-stream hybrid thermal network

The one-stream hybrid thermal network is analyzed and discussed based on the entransy theory, and the results are compared with those from the entropy generation optimization. The theoretical analysis indicates that the minimum heat-flow-weighted temperature of the thermal networks corresponds to the minimum entransy dissipation rate and the minimum thermal re- sistance. For a simple hybrid thermal network consisting of three thermal components, the expression of entransy dissipation is conducted, and the heat transfer area and the mass flow rate are calculated and optimized. The optimal results are obtained in order to minimize the entransy dissipation and the thermal resistance. The optimal results are calculated for various combina- tions, such as series connection, parallel connection and other hybrid connections. The numerical results are in accordance with the theoretical analysis. Both the theoretical analysis and the numerical results show that the minimum entransy dissipation and the minimum thermal resistance correspond to the minimum heat-flow-weighted temperature of the thermal networks while the minimum entropy generation does not.