Entransy: A misleading concept for the analysis and optimization of thermal systems

The purpose of this article is to assess the value of entransy for use in the thermal system engineering domain and in particular for design. The conclusion is that use of entransy is not recommended. This finding is in keeping with increasing uneasiness that has emerged recently in the technical literature about this concept. Throughout this article emphasis is on concise discussions of salient entransy aspects and the presentation is shaped to reach a broad technical audience. Accordingly, because secondary entransy aspects do not play a central role in reaching the above recommendation, they are considered only in passing or deferred. - Highlights: • A methodology for analysis, design, and optimization of thermal systems. • Entransy is not recommended for use in thermal system engineering. • Components of actual thermal systems do not operate ideally on any basis. • Entropy and exergy rest firmly on the second law of thermodynamics. • Entransy arises by analogy