Mozurkewich, M.Berry, R.S.2010-06-222010-06-221981Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci., 78, 1986-1988.http://hdl.handle.net/10315/4262The methods of finite-time thermodynamics are used to find the optimal time path of an Otto cycle with friction and heat leakage. Optimality is defined by maximization of the work per cycle; the system is constrained to operate at a fixed frequency, so the maximum power is obtained. The result is an improvement of about 10% in the effectiveness (second-law efficiency) of a conventional near-sinusoidal engine.enArticlehttp://www.pnas.org/http://www.pnas.org/content/78/4/1986.full.pdf+html?sid=774a7233-f354-466e-9f11-3ba2fb149ea8