Performance assessment of a magnetohydrodynamic power generation system: Division of the exergy destruction rate into its sub-portions

Abstract

Sustainable and environmental friendly energy extraction and utilization is the foremost priority of the energy sector to meet the present and near future energy demands. The need of the day is to have efficient and eco-friendly energy conversion technologies either through the enhancement of the existing technologies or the development of some all-new technology. The present study investigates a standalone open-cycle Magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) power generation system using the advanced exergy analysis analytically. The effects of distributing the exergy destruction into endogenous/exogenous and avoidable/unavoidable on the improvement possibilities and the mutual interlinkages among the different units of the MHD system have been studied. The results showed that the MHD system has a higher possibility of its further development due to low unavoidable (36.82%) and high avoidable (63.18%) exergy desolation rates. The interlinkages among various units of the MHD system were found to be reasonably stronger due to the higher rate of exergy destruction of the endogenous type as compared to the exogenous portion. In the present study, the combustion chamber is found to have the highest possibility of upgradation as it possesses the largest value of avoidable exergy destruction rate together with the maximum rate of avoidable endogenous portion of the exergy destruction.