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Updated: Dec 31, 2025
04:58
A Rapid Method for Modeling a Variable Cycle Engine
Published on: August 13, 2019
7.9K
A quantitative engineering study of ecosystem robustness using thermodynamic power cycles as case studies
Varuneswara Panyam1, Astrid Layton1
1J. Mike Walker '66 Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America.
Plos One
|January 1, 2020
Summary
Engineered systems can learn from ecosystems to improve robustness and sustainability. By balancing efficiency and redundancy, designs can enhance both energy efficiency and system resilience.
Area of Science:
- Ecological Engineering
- Thermodynamics
- Network Science
Background:
- Traditional engineered systems prioritize efficiency.
- Ecosystems achieve robustness through a balance of pathway efficiency and redundancy.
- Translating ecological principles to engineering can yield more sustainable designs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between thermodynamic efficiency and ecological robustness in engineered systems.
- To explore how design modifications in thermodynamic cycles impact system robustness and efficiency.
- To develop new design guidelines for robust and sustainable engineered systems based on ecological network principles.
Main Methods:
- Analyzed 23 variations of Brayton and Rankine thermodynamic cycles.
- Quantified system efficiency using thermodynamic first law efficiency.
- Assessed ecological robustness using network-based pathway efficiency and redundancy measures.
Main Results:
- Thermodynamic efficiency and ecological pathway efficiency do not always correlate.
- Increasing energy efficiency in engineered systems often reduces robustness.
- Ecological network design principles can enable simultaneous increases in energy efficiency and robustness.
Conclusions:
- Engineered systems can achieve greater robustness and sustainability by adopting ecosystem design principles.
- A balance between efficiency and redundancy is key for long-term system resilience.
- Understanding ecological network design offers a pathway to improved engineering practices.
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