Optimal paths for a light-driven engine with a linear phenomenological heat transfer law

An irreversible light-driven engine is described in this paper, in which the heat transfer between the working fluid and the environment obeys a linear phenomenological heat transfer law [q ∝ Δ(T−1)], with a working fluid composed of the bimolecular reacting system 2SO3FaiS2O6F2. Piston trajectories maximizing work output and minimizing entropy generation are determined for such an engine with rate-dependent loss mechanisms of friction and heat leakage. The optimal control theory is applied to determine the optimal configurations of the piston motion trajectory and the fluid temperature. Numerical examples for the optimal configuration are provided, and the obtained results are compared with those derived with Newtonian heat transfer law [q ∝ Δ(T)].