ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the introductory material for a study of design and optimization of thermal systems, which are governed by the principles of heat and mass transfer, thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics. Thermal systems arise in a wide range of engineering applications, including manufacturing, transportation, power, thermal management of electronic equipment, and environmental control. A system consists of individual constituents that interact with each other and that must be considered as coupled for a study of the overall behavior. Design is a creative process undertaken to solve new or existing problems; design is an extremely important engineering task because it leads to new and improved processes and systems. It involves open-ended solutions with multiple possibilities, as opposed to analysis, which gives rise to unique, well-defined, closed-ended results. Synthesis brings together several different analyses and types of information, thus forming an important aspect in system design. Design is also considered as part of an overall engineering enterprise, starting with a need or opportunity and followed by market and feasibility analyses. Once these are established, engineering design is initiated with inputs from research and development, leading to a domain of acceptable designs. Due to global competition, it has become critical to optimize the system and take advantage of new and emerging techniques and materials.
