A.R.T. (Associated Reversible Transformations) as a basis for thermodynamic cycles analysis

This paper tries to give a general description of a thermodynamic cycle (whatever kind and number of transformations) as a function of a set of independent parameters characterising thermodynamic transformations, as well as of constraints imposed on the cycle by plant physical nature, lay-out and controls. An 'Associated Reversible Transformation' (A.R.T.), defined in the paper, is used to describe each real thermodynamic transformation of working fluid, similarly to well-known description of ideal gas adiabatic compression by means of a polytropic transformation, so that A.R.T. may be regarded as polytropics generalised. A simple gas cycle is used to present an application of A.R.T. in the field of energy Diagnosis, underlining usefulness of a complete set of independent parameters for cycle description. Further application in the fields of second law analysis and thermoeconomics are outlined in the concluding part of the paper