https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-01551-w
Regular Article
Energy physics concepts for Olympiad curricula and a simple optimization of the Rankine cycle
1
Faculty of Physics, University of Bucharest, Atomistilor 405, 077125, Magurele, Ilfov, Romania
2
Laser Driven Experiments Department, Extreme Light Infrastructure-Nuclear Physics (ELI-NP), Reactorului, 077125, Magurele, Ilfov, Romania
Received:
18
January
2025
Accepted:
25
February
2025
Published online:
4
April
2025
We proposed and solved a thought-provoking Olympiad-level problem with the aim to introduce high-school students to real-life physics and engineering principles encompassing energy production-wise and environmentally relevant technologies. In the first part, we discussed the physics behind hydraulic jumps and embedded it in several heat engine applications comprising of a Pelton wheel and a Rankine cycle. Next, we ran through a simple optimization method for the efficiency of a polytropic Rankine-type engine. We also tangentially commenced a brief discussion on the latest Rankine-related news and the possible relevance of our riddling exercise to this topic.
Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at https://doi.org/10.1140/epjs/s11734-025-01551-w.
© The Author(s) 2025
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