Non-quasistatic response coefficients and dissipated availability for macroscopic thermodynamic systems

Abstract

The characterization of finite-time thermodynamic processes is of crucial importance for extending equilibrium thermodynamics to nonequilibrium thermodynamics. The central issue is to quantify responses of thermodynamic variables and irreversible dissipation associated with non-quasistatic changes of thermodynamic forces applied to the system. In this study, we derive a simple formula that incorporates the non-quasistatic response coefficients with Onsager’s kinetic coefficients, where the Onsager coefficients characterize the relaxation dynamics of fluctuation of extensive thermodynamic variables of semi-macroscopic systems. Moreover, the thermodynamic length and the dissipated availability that quantifies the efficiency of irreversible thermodynamic processes are formulated in terms of the derived non-quasistatic response coefficients. The present results are demonstrated by using an ideal gas model. The present results are, in principle, verifiable through experiments and are thus expected to provide a guiding principle for the nonequilibrium control of macroscopic thermodynamic systems.