Design of consistently near-optimal heat exchanger networks by a two-stage optimisation approach
Master Thesis
1998
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University of Cape Town
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Abstract
Research in the field of Heat Exchanger Network Synthesis has been active as far back as 1965. Although the problem statement has remained essentially unchanged since then, numerous techniques have been developed to solve the heat exchange problem. Despite significant progress achieved over the years, a number of design issues remain unresolved or vaguely understood. Consequently, consistent generation of near-optimal heat exchanger networks is not guaranteed. This project has therefore been undertaken to develop a flexible design technique that can be used to gain further insight into the nature of a heat exchanger network. The objective of this project was to develop a network design technique that could be used to consistently generate networks that are near optimal. The main feature of the network design technique developed is the application of the optimisation process at two levels. The first level is match optimisation, and the second level is network optimisation. The objective function to be minimised is the total annual cost. The total annual cost is the sum of the annual cost of energy and the annual cost of capital. The annual cost of energy is the sum of the annual costs of hot utilities and cold utilities. The annual cost of capital is the sum of the annual costs of process, hot utility, and cold utility exchangers.
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Bibliography: pages 225-231.
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Gcabva, S. 1998. Design of consistently near-optimal heat exchanger networks by a two-stage optimisation approach. University of Cape Town.