Thermal System Design and Optimization
Contents: 1. Introduction to design and system design. 2. System Simulation. 3. Curve fitting. 4. Optimization-Basic ideas and formulation. 5. Lagrange multipliers. 6. Search methods. 7. Linear Programming and Dynamic Programming. 8. Non-traditional optimization techniques. 9. Inverse problems. Summary. Appendices. Bibliography. Index.
Optimization can be mathematically defined as seeking the maximum or minimum of a function of usually several variables. Optimization lies at the root of engineering and every engineer is "expected" to optimize the system(s) he/she designs! However, optimization has been largely neglected in thermal sciences like scarcity of good texts on this subject, ,requirement of computational resources in terms of computing power and the non-availability of software to confront challenging optimization problems. These are no longer relevant in this day and age as the world has seen an explosive growth in both computing power and optimization methods and tools. Hence, the stage is set for the engineer to seek the optimum in thermal sciences, instead of just being content with having a design that "works".
Keeping this in mind, this new text introduces the general principles involved in system design and optimization as applicable to thermal systems, followed by the methods to accomplish them. The book, for the first time, introduces contemporary techniques like Genetic Algorithms, Simulated Annealing and Bayesian Inference in the context of optimization of thermal systems. There is a separate chapter devoted to inverse problems in thermal systems, which is yet another unique feature in the textbook. In this second edition, new sections are added on Integer Programming and Multi-Objective optimization. The linear programming chapter has been fortified by a detailed presentation of the Simplex method. A major highlight of the revised edition is the inclusion of workable MATLAB codes for examples of key algorithms discussed in the book. Examples in each chapter will clarify the concepts and methods presented and end-of-chapter problems will supplement the material presented and enhance the learning process. (jacket)
