Phys. Rev. Lett. 105, 150603 (2010) [4 pages]Efficiency at Maximum Power of Low-Dissipation Carnot EnginesReceived 14 August 2010; revised 3 September 2010; published 7 October 2010 We study the efficiency at maximum power, η*, of engines performing finite-time Carnot cycles between a hot and a cold reservoir at temperatures Th and Tc, respectively. For engines reaching Carnot efficiency ηC=1-Tc/Th in the reversible limit (long cycle time, zero dissipation), we find in the limit of low dissipation that η* is bounded from above by ηC/(2-ηC) and from below by ηC/2. These bounds are reached when the ratio of the dissipation during the cold and hot isothermal phases tend, respectively, to zero or infinity. For symmetric dissipation (ratio one) the Curzon-Ahlborn efficiency ηCA=1-√Tc/Th is recovered. © 2010 The American Physical Society URL:
http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.150603
DOI:
10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.150603
PACS:
05.70.Ln, 05.20.-y
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