Maximum profit performance of a three-heat-reservoir heat pump

The operation of a three-heat-reservoir heat pump is viewed as a production process with exergy as its output. The relations between the optimal profi t and COP (coefficient of performance), and the COP bound at the maximum pr ofit of the heat pump are derived based on a general heat transfer law. The results provide a theoretical basis for developing and utilizing a variety of heat pumps. The focus of this paper is to search the compromised optimi zation between economics (profit) and the utilization factor (COP) for fini te-time endoreversible thermodynamic cycles. Copyright (C) 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.