Essentials of Thermal System Design and Optimization

The vital concept of optimization has been largely neglected in thermal sciences. Keeping this in mind, Essentials of Thermal System Design and Optimization introduces the general principles involved in system design and optimization as applicable to thermal systems, followed by the methods to implement them. The book features several surprising examples and uses a conversational style to, for the first time, introduce contemporary techniques and concepts, such as genetic algorithms, simulated annealing, ANN, and Bayesian Inference in the context of thermal system optimization. An independent chapter is devoted to inverse problems in thermal systems. Examples and problems in every chapter clarify presented concepts and methods, and supplemental end-of-chapter problems enhance the learning process.