The performance of endoreversible thermal machines operating at finite power regime constitutes one of the main challenges of nonequilibrium thermodynamics, for classical and quantum systems. In this master's thesis we study the thermodynamic properties of collisional models of quantum dot and Brownian particle nanoscale thermal engines. In the present case, at each time interval, the system interact with a different thermal reservoir and under a different external force (in the Brownian case). The thermal properties are characterized using stochastic thermodynamics and the performance optimization of the engine in relation to different parameters (asymmetric times, forces and other quantities) is analyzed. Our results show that the present approach constitutes an adequate tool / methodology useful in the study of thermal engines working in finite time, in contrast to an idealized Carnot's machine.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.