Optimization of Polymer Tube-Bundle Heat Exchangers Using a Genetic Algorithm

Author(s):  
Lingjun Meng ◽  
Anthony M. Jacobi

Tube-bundle heat exchangers are widely utilized in gas-to-gas and gas-to-liquid applications, and interest remains high in improving the efficiency of these heat exchangers. Due to excellent resistance to fouling and corrosion, polymer heat exchangers have been mainly applied under extreme working conditions, where such concerns are important. Recently, however, there has been interest in using polymer heat exchangers as a substitute for conventional metallic heat exchangers in more general applications. The present study explores the optimization of bare polymer tube-bundle (PTB) heat exchangers and determines the cost effectiveness of PTB heat exchangers through comparisons to conventional metallic heat exchangers using a Genetic Algorithm (GA). Most of heat exchanger optimization studies have focused mainly on the physics of the fluid flow or heat transfer enhancement, and a detailed analysis including geometry and cost is rare. The present study is distinguished from others by focusing on objective functions involving cost under volume constraints and undertaking geometry optimization with sensitivity analysis.

2000 ◽  
Vol 122 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Liu ◽  
Jane Davidson ◽  
Susan Mantell

The feasibility of reducing the cost of solar water heating systems by using polymer heat exchangers is illustrated by comparing thermal performance and cost of heat exchangers made of nylon, cross linked polyethylene (PEX), or copper. Both tube-in-shell heat exchangers and immersed tube banks are considered. For the thermal analysis, the tube geometry and the arrangement of tubes are fixed and the heat transfer surface areas required to provide 3000 and 6000 W are determined. Thermal performance is estimated using published heat transfer correlations. The nylon heat exchanger outperforms the PEX design, primarily because nylon is a stronger material. Consequently, the ratio of diameter to wall thickness required to withstand the operating pressure is greater and the conduction resistance across the polymer wall is less. The cost of nonoptimized nylon heat exchangers is about 80 percent of the cost of heat exchangers made of copper. Significant additional work is required to optimize the tube arrangement and geometry and to validate our initial estimates of thermal and economic performance. [S0199-6231(00)00802-9]


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 514
Author(s):  
Leonardo Bayas-Jiménez ◽  
F. Javier Martínez-Solano ◽  
Pedro L. Iglesias-Rey ◽  
Daniel Mora-Melia ◽  
Vicente S. Fuertes-Miquel

A problem for drainage systems managers is the increase in extreme rain events that are increasing in various parts of the world. Their occurrence produces hydraulic overload in the drainage system and consequently floods. Adapting the existing infrastructure to be able to receive extreme rains without generating consequences for cities’ inhabitants has become a necessity. This research shows a new way to improve drainage systems with minimal investment costs, using for this purpose a novel methodology that considers the inclusion of hydraulic control elements in the network, the installation of storm tanks and the replacement of pipes. The presented methodology uses the Storm Water Management Model for the hydraulic analysis of the network and a modified Genetic Algorithm to optimize the network. In this algorithm, called the Pseudo-Genetic Algorithm, the coding of the chromosomes is integral and has been used in previous studies of hydraulic optimization. This work evaluates the cost of the required infrastructure and the damage caused by floods to find the optimal solution. The main conclusion of this study is that the inclusion of hydraulic controls can reduce the cost of network rehabilitation and decrease flood levels.


Fluids ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 25
Author(s):  
Iris Gerken ◽  
Thomas Wetzel ◽  
Jürgen J. Brandner

Micro heat exchangers have been revealed to be efficient devices for improved heat transfer due to short heat transfer distances and increased surface-to-volume ratios. Further augmentation of the heat transfer behaviour within microstructured devices can be achieved with heat transfer enhancement techniques, and more precisely for this study, with passive enhancement techniques. Pin fin geometries influence the flow path and, therefore, were chosen as the option for further improvement of the heat transfer performance. The augmentation of heat transfer with micro heat exchangers was performed with the consideration of an improved heat transfer behaviour, and with additional pressure losses due to the change of flow path (pin fin geometries). To capture the impact of the heat transfer, as well as the impact of additional pressure losses, an assessment method should be considered. The overall exergy loss method can be applied to micro heat exchangers, and serves as a simple assessment for characterization. Experimental investigations with micro heat exchanger structures were performed to evaluate the assessment method and its importance. The heat transfer enhancement was experimentally investigated with microstructured pin fin geometries to understand the impact on pressure loss behaviour with air.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (13) ◽  
pp. 5954
Author(s):  
Muhammad Ishaq ◽  
Amjad Ali ◽  
Muhammad Amjad ◽  
Khalid Saifullah Syed ◽  
Zafar Iqbal

Heat transfer enhancement in heat exchangers results in thermal efficiency and energy saving. In double-pipe heat exchangers (DPHEs), extended or augmented fins in the annulus of the two concentric pipes, i.e., at the outer surface of the inner pipe, are used to extend the surface of contact for enhancing heat transfer. In this article, an innovative diamond-shaped design of extended fins is proposed for DPHEs. This type of fin is considered for the first time in the design of DPHEs. The triangular-shaped and rectangular-shaped fin designs of DPHE, available in the literature, can be recovered as special cases of the proposed design. An h-adaptive finite element method is employed for the solution of the governing equations. The results are computed for various performance measures against the emerging parameters. The results dictate that the optimal configurations of the diamond-shaped fins in the DPHE for an enhanced heat transfer are recommended as follows: If around 4–6, 8–12, or 16–32 fins are to be placed in the DPHE, then the height of the fins should be 20%, 80%, or 100%, respectively, of the annulus width. If frictional loss of heat is also to be considered, then for fin-heights of 20–80% and 100% of the annulus width, the placement of 4 and 8 diamond-shaped fins, respectively, is recommended for an enhanced heat transfer. These recommendations are for the radii ratio (i.e., the ratio of the inner pipe radius to that of the outer pipe) of 0.25. The recommendations are be modified if the radii ratio is altered.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Alejandro Castellanos-Alvarez ◽  
Laura Cruz-Reyes ◽  
Eduardo Fernandez ◽  
Nelson Rangel-Valdez ◽  
Claudia Gómez-Santillán ◽  
...  

Most real-world problems require the optimization of multiple objective functions simultaneously, which can conflict with each other. The environment of these problems usually involves imprecise information derived from inaccurate measurements or the variability in decision-makers’ (DMs’) judgments and beliefs, which can lead to unsatisfactory solutions. The imperfect knowledge can be present either in objective functions, restrictions, or decision-maker’s preferences. These optimization problems have been solved using various techniques such as multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEAs). This paper proposes a new MOEA called NSGA-III-P (non-nominated sorting genetic algorithm III with preferences). The main characteristic of NSGA-III-P is an ordinal multi-criteria classification method for preference integration to guide the algorithm to the region of interest given by the decision-maker’s preferences. Besides, the use of interval analysis allows the expression of preferences with imprecision. The experiments contrasted several versions of the proposed method with the original NSGA-III to analyze different selective pressure induced by the DM’s preferences. In these experiments, the algorithms solved three-objectives instances of the DTLZ problem. The obtained results showed a better approximation to the region of interest for a DM when its preferences are considered.


1996 ◽  
Vol 104 (7) ◽  
pp. 2684-2691 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan K. Gregurick ◽  
Millard H. Alexander ◽  
Bernd Hartke

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