Overview

This book is the first major work covering applications in thermal engineering and offering a comprehensive introduction to optimal control theory, which has applications in mechanical engineering, particularly aircraft and missile trajectory optimization.

Organization

The book is organized in three parts: The first part includes a brief presentation of function optimization and variational calculus, while the second part presents a summary of the optimal control theory. Lastly, the third part describes several applications of optimal control theory in solving various thermal engineering problems.

Applications

These applications are grouped in four sections: heat transfer and thermal energy storage, solar thermal engineering, heat engines and lubrication.

Intended Audience

Clearly presented and easy-to-use, it is a valuable resource for thermal engineers and thermal-system designers as well as postgraduate students.