A Critical Review of Second Law Costing Methods—II: Calculus Procedures

Abstract

The following article completes the review of the development and state of engineering economic applications of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which was begun in Part I (El-Sayed and Gaggioli, 1989). We began with a historical review, followed by a brief discussion of the relevant cost accounting concepts and, in turn, general descriptions of the different exergy costing methods which are in existence. Then, the various algebraic techniques of exergy costing were analyzed and critiqued, generally by considering successive publications developing and/or based on a technique. This paper, on the other hand, is devoted primarily to calculus methods. Of course the algebraic and calculus techniques do relate to each other, and those relationships are developed here. Furthermore, general concepts, discussion and conclusions which are relevant to both algebraic and calculus methods are presented, along with suggestions regarding further research.