SUMMARYIn this paper, an approach for the optimum design of heat exchangers has been presented. Traditional design method of heat exchangers involves many trials in order to meet design specifications. This can be avoided through the present design method, which takes the minimization of annual total cost as a design objective. In alternative optimum design methods, such as Lagrange multiplier method, by changing one variable at a time and using a trial-error or a graphical method, optimum results are obtained in a long time. In the present design optimization problem, the total annual cost has been taken as the objective function and heat balance, and rate equation have been taken as equal constraint. The method using the penalty function transforms the constrained problem into a single unconstrained problem. To solve the optimal problem, the method of steepest descent has been used. Initial design variables include the tubeinside coefficient of heat transfer, tube-outside coefficient of heat transfer, temperature difference and outside tube area of heat transfer. The changes in variables are considered simultaneously to reach an optimum solution. The results show that the present approach is a powerful tool for optimum design of heat exchangers and is expected to be beneficial to energy industry.
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.