THERMODYNAMIC APPROACH FOR EVALUATION OF EXERGETIC EFFICIENCY OF CONTEMPORARY CITIES

Abstract

The increasingly search for sustainability induces development of concise theoretical tools for comparison of parameters of interest. Thermodynamic tools for assessment of machines and thermal systems are indicated for this task. Thus, calculation of thermodynamic efficiency of cities as an analogy to efficieny of thermal machines is indicated for studies of sustainable cities. Hoiwever, the utilization of the concept of efficiency applied to assessment of cities has a main difficult: the formal definition of production flux of the cities in terms of thermodynamical properties, independently of their cultural background, geography, population, climate, economic profile, etc. This paper focuses on define the theoretical basis to assess the production flux of the cities in terms of thermodynamical properties, their inner dynamics of transformation of mass and energy, generation of irreversibilities and aplication of the property exergy as an universal parameter for thermodynamical assessment of cities. As results, it was presented figures of exergetic efficiency of five cities in Latina America, produced during academic seminars of the discipline Thermodynamic of Cities of the faculty of Engineering Energy of the Federal University of Latin-america Integration.