*** FRIAM APPLIED COMPLEXITY LECTURE SERIES ***
*** FRIDAY May 30, 2003, 12:15 - 1:30pm ***
LOCATION: Santa Fe Institute Medium Conference Room
SPEAKER: Belinda Wong-Swanson
TITLE: Thermodynamic Availability in Complex Systems
ABSTRACT:
Energy Availability (also known as Exergy) analysis has been used for over
30 years to improve the operational performance of power plants and
industrial processes. I am currently conducting research to explore the
feasibility of combining concepts and techniques in complexity science (such
as, distributed agents, self-organization, adaptation, agent-based
modeling), with energy availability analysis, as a tool for evaluating the
interactions of different human activities, resource usage, environmental
and economic impact.
Typical energy availability of power plants would examine the input and
output flows of the power plant, the different systems within the power
plants, in order to reduce the amount of energy wasted. I would like to
extend the system analysis boundary to include human activities near the
power plant, and look at the input and output streams of each, and identify
ways to optimally couple the activities such that output streams from one
activity may be input streams to others, in order to utilize as close to the
thermodynamic limit of available energy as possible.
AGENDA:
- motivation for the investigation
- brief review of 1st & 2nd of Thermodynamics
- energy availability overview
- case study comparing difference between energy efficiency and
energy availability efficiency
- Literature search of research that combined energy availability &
complexity
- my research proposal
- comments & suggestions from audience
REFERENCES:
Kay. J. Ecosystems as self-organizing holarchic open systems: Narratives and
the second law of thermodynamics
<
http://www.redfish.com/papers/Kay_SelforgEcosystem.pdf>
Wall. G. Conditions and tools in the design of energy conversion and
management systems of sustainable society
<
http://www.redfish.com/papers/ctdecmsss.pdf>
More info on Applied Complexity lecture series at
http://www.redfish.com/friam
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