Optimal design of shell-and-tube heat exchangers using genetic algorithms

摘要

This paper presents an approach based on genetic algorithms for the optimal design of shell-and-tube heat exchangers. The proposed approach uses a compact formulation of the Bell-Delaware method to describe the shell-side flow pattern. The optimization procedure involves the determination of suitable values of major geometric parameters such as the number of tubes passes, standard internal and external tube diameters, tube layout and pitch, type of head, fluid allocation, number of sealing strips, inlet and outlet baffle spacing, and shell-side and tube-side pressure drops. The proposed methodology takes into account several geometric and operational constraints typically recommended by design codes, and may provide global optimum solutions as opposed to local optimum solutions that are typically obtained with many other optimization methods. An example previously solved with a disjunctive programming method is used to show the application of the proposed approach. The results show how the previous design was significantly improved through the use of the optimization approach based on genetic algorithms.