Journal Pre-proof

Optimal design of heat exchanger network considering the fouling throughout the
operating cycle

Peng Hang, Liwen Zhao, Guilian Liu

PII: S0360-5442(21)03162-5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2021.122913
Reference: EGY 122913

To appear in: Energy

Received Date: 5 August 2021

Revised Date: 26 November 2021
Accepted Date: 11 December 2021

Please cite this article as: Hang P, Zhao L, Liu G, Optimal design of heat exchanger network
considering the fouling throughout the operating cycle, Energy (2022), doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/
j.energy.2021.122913.

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 Credit author statement

Peng Hang: Conceptualization, Methodology, Software, Writing the draft.

Liwen Zhao: Software, Validation and Editing.

Guilian Liu: Investigation, Supervision, Reviewing.

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 Optimal design of heat exchanger network considering the
fouling throughout the operating cycle

Peng HANG1, Liwen ZHAO1, Guilian LIU1,2*

1. Department of Chemical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an,

Shaanxi, 710049, P. R. China
2. Engineering Research Center of New Energy System Engineering and

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Equipment, University of Shaanxi Province, Xi’an, Shaanxi, 710049, P. R.

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China

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* Corresponding Author
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Email：guilianliui@mail.xjtu.edu.cn.

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 ABSTRACT

A model is established for minimizing the cost of heat exchanger network (HEN)

throughout the operating cycle, with fouling, heat exchanger area margin, the location

and opening of bypass considered. The Genetic Algorithm (GA) is applied to generate

the economically potential structures; the neural network is used to predict the

relationship of heat exchange area and cost. The flow velocity and bypass opening are

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optimized simultaneously by the Sequential Quadratic Programming (SQP) method.

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The optimization of HEN throughout the operating cycle is a mixed-integer nonlinear
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problem and is solved by the stage-wise solution procedure. The proposed method can
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efficiently optimize the design and operation of a HEN throughout the operating cycle.
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For the studied case, the total cost can be reduced by 62 % after the optimization.
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Keywords: Optimization; Heat Exchanger Network; Operating Cycle; Fouling; Bypass

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1 Introduction
In industry, fouling in heat exchangers is unavoidable and causes the efficiency of heat

exchangers to decrease over time. Because of this, extra energy is consumed to meet

the heating and cooling requirements, the flow resistance and pressure drop of streams

increase, and some powering equipment should be invested.

For a practical heat exchanger network (HEN) with a fixed flowsheet and equipment,

its operating conditions, energy consumption, and operating cost vary along the

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operating time. Its total cost is affected by the fouling of heat exchangers and bypasses.

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Designing or operating a HEN with the minimum cost should consider their effect

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during the entire operating cycle, as well as the variation of cost.
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The fouling mechanism, influencing factors, and prediction models have been studied
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widely. Ebert et al. [1] proposed the concept of fouling threshold and modeled the effect

of flow velocity by a semi-empirical method. Polley et al. [2] improved the fouling
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model with the film temperature replaced by the wall temperature and more properties
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associated. Based on the fouling model, Sudarni [3] examined the HEN of a sugar plant
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and concluded that fouling might increase energy consumption and cost.

The fouling might increase the stream's pressure drop and affect the system's capital

cost and operating cost. Yeap et al. [4] pointed out that neglecting the pressure drop

would result in the total cost deviating from the optimal value. Jegede and Polley [5]

considered the influence of pressure drop, flow rate, and heat transfer coefficient in the

design of HEN while neglecting their interactive effect. With the initial value of the

maximum pressure drop fixed, Jin et al. [6] optimized the HEN with pressure drop

considered in calculating the heat transfer coefficient. Although the optimal design of

HEN is investigated from an overall perspective, the heat transfer coefficient is

calculated at a specific pressure drop, and this leads to suboptimal results.

3
The structure of HEN can be optimized with the heat exchanger margin and bypasses

applied to overcome the fouling problem and reduce the pressure drop [7]. Based on

the fouling threshold model, Zhu et al. [8] pointed out that the optimization of flow rate,

split ratio, and cleaning schedule can ease the fouling problem. Liu et al. [9] optimized

heat exchange areas and cleaning schedules simultaneously to obtain a more

economical flexible HEN. Although many researchers have studied the fouling of heat

exchangers, the optimization of HEN in different operating periods is limited by the

fixed structure; few studies considered the integrated optimization of design and

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operation comprehensively.

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Mathematical programming methods could consider all possible matches between hot
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and cold streams (including utilities), calculate utility consumption, operation and
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capital costs, and synthesize optimal HEN. However, the synthesis of HEN is a typical
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mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP) problem, and it is difficult to identify

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its global optimal solution [10]. Studies over the past three decades have proved that

Generalized Benders Decomposition (GBD) and the Outer Approximation (OA)

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algorithms are classical methods to solve the MINLP problem [11]. In both methods,
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the model is solved within the upper and lower bounds on the solution, generated by

solving the subproblems formulated from the original problem iteratively. Floudas and

Ciric first studied the GBD and applied it to the optimal design of HEN. Their later

research [12] and the work of Zhou et al. [13] suggest that the optimal solution of a

convex problem can be searched in the solution set of the sub-problem iteratively. For

non-convex problems, only the local optimal solutions can be found, or the solution

procedure cannot converge.

In recent years, some algorithms have been developed and applied to automatic solvers

[14]. Wu et al. [15] replaced the binary variable with a nonlinear approximation,

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simplified the MINLP problem into nonlinear programming (NLP) problem, and used

BARON to solve the latter. This method can reduce the number of variables and

constraints and enhance the computational efficiency significantly. Nemet et al. [16]

developed a two-step method to optimize HEN. In the first step, the mixed-integer

linear programming (MILP) model is solved, and multiple solutions are obtained within

an acceptable calculation time. In the second step, a "simplified" MINLP model is

solved to eliminate the inferior solutions obtained in the first step. Beck and Hofmann

[17] proposed a method with multiple MILP and NLP sub-problems solved iteratively.

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Global optimal solutions can be identified efficiently for small-scale problems, while

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the algorithm is not suitable for large-scale problems due to its low efficiency. Based
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on the literature research, solving non-convex MINLP problems without specified
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restrictions is still a challenge.
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In the open literature, most of the research on HENs concentrates on minimizing the
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total annualized cost. Because of the problem’s complexity and calculation time, only

a few considered the accumulative cost throughout the operating cycle, at the end of
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which the chemical process needs an overhaul, catalyst renewal and equipment
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maintenance. Abuhalima et al. [18] divided the operating cycle into several intervals

and optimized the HEN in each interval in terms of accumulative cost. However, only

the heat exchanger area is optimized, and there is space for further optimization of other

variables. For optimizing a HEN, it is necessary to consider the whole operating cycle,

which is three years in many petrochemical plants [19].

This paper aims to propose a mathematical programming method for synthesizing the

optimal HEN in the operating cycle. The fouling of each heat exchanger, the cost of

power equipment, the heat exchanger area margin, the location and opening of bypasses

are considered. This manuscript is organized as follows: In Section 2, the problem is

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described. In Section 3, the model of HEN is built, and the factors affecting its

optimization are analyzed. In Section 4, the solution procedure is presented. In Section

5, a case is studied to illustrate the application of the proposed method. The proposed

method is summarized in the Conclusions.

2 Problem statement
The HEN contains Nh hot streams and Nc cold streams. Its synthesis is studied based

on the stage-wise superstructure [20], which is divided into Ns stages according to the

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temperature intervals. Since the solution space and the calculation time increase along

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with the number of stages, a suitable number of stages is taken as Ns = max {Nh, Nc}.

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For complex HEN, the max{Nh, Nc} is usually greater than that of the optimal solution,
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and Ns can be taken as a value less than it.
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In terms of considering the match between each pair of hot and cold streams, hot stream

j is split into Nc sub-streams, and cold stream k is split into Nh sub-streams, as shown
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in Figure 1. In stage i, hot stream j matches with cold stream k. After exchanging energy
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in a heat exchanger, their outlet temperatures are Th,ijk and Tc,ijk , respectively. Th,ij
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and Tc,ik represent their temperatures outlet from stage i. The counter-current tube-

shell heat exchangers (including heaters and coolers) are used in HEN. At the end of

each stage, the sub-streams will be mixed and heated/cooled to target temperature ( tn ,out )

by utilities.

This work aims to propose a mathematical method for optimizing the HEN within the

whole operating cycle. The fouling, cost of power equipment, and the location and

adjustment of bypasses will be considered.

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3 Model of HEN

3.1 Objective function

In the optimization, the investment of HEN and operating costs should be evaluated

comprehensively. The accumulative utility cost (including heating and cooling utilities)

in the whole operating cycle, Cu ,o , can be calculated by Eq (1)~Eq (3). Meanwhile,

the investment cost of heat exchanger ( CHE ) can be determined by Eq (4). The

operating cost of the pump/compressor ( C pope

,i / Cc ,i ) is calculated based on the
ope

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variation of streams’ pressure in each period, while their investment cost ( C pcap
,i / Cc ,i )
cap

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is calculated based on its maximum duty during the entire operating cycle. The total
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cost ( CO ) is shown by Eq (5). Its minimization in the whole operating cycle is the
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purpose of optimization.
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Stage i
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1
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Hot stream j Xh,ijk

·
j
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T'h,ij T"h,ijk T"h,ij

·
Nc

1
· Xc,ijk Cold stream k
k
T"c,ik T"c,ijk T'c,ik
·
Nh

Figure 1. Stage-wise superstructure of HEN

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 Cu ,o    QHU CHU  QCU CCU dt
to
(1)
0

Nh  Nc
QHU   CPn  tn ,out  tn  (tn ,out  tn ) (2)
n 1

Nh  Nc
QCU   CPn  tn  tn ,out  (tn ,out  tn ) (3)
n 1

Ns N h Nc Nh  Nc
CHE   C fix  bAijk  
c
 (Cfix  bAHU
c
/ CU )c (4)
i 1 j 1 k 1 n 1

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CO  Cu ,o  CHE   C pope
,i   C p ,i   Cc ,i   Cc,i
cap ope cap
(5)

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Where A is the heat exchanger area; Cfix , b and c are coefficients. QHU and QCU
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denote the consumptions of hot utility and cold utility, and are calculated by Eq (2) and
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Eq (3), respectively; CHU and CCU denote their costs, respectively. CPn denotes the
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heat capacity of stream n; tn ,out is the target temperature of stream n, and t n is its

output temperature after heat exchange with streams; CHE is the total investment of
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heat exchangers; C fix denotes the fixed cost of the heat exchanger.

3.2 The fouling threshold

Fouling in heat exchangers is caused by the chemical reaction near the heat transfer

surface and results from two opposite mechanisms: the formation and removal of dirt

[1]. The formation rate depends on the temperature of the heat transfer surface. The

generated dirt can be removed from the surface before deposition, and its removal rate

depends on the flow rate of stream. When the former is higher than the latter, significant

fouling may occur. Otherwise, the fouling deposit is negligible.

The fouling threshold is the maximum wall temperature, below which no significant

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deposit occurs [21]. It increases along with the flow rate or volatility of the stream, and

its variation line divides the workspace into two areas, as shown in Figure 2. In the

region below the threshold line, the deposition is negligible, while in that above the

threshold line, severe fouling occurs, and the severity increases with the degree of

deviation.

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Fouling

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Wall Temperature,

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Velocity, m/s
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Figure 2 Fouling threshold

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Eq (6) is proposed by Polley et al. [2] and can be applied to calculate the fouling rate
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( Rf ' ). It not only correlates the heat exchanger parameters but also integrates the

characteristics of streams. The thermal resistance of fouling at the moment (t+1), Rft 1 ,

can be calculated with those of period dt and previous moment ( Rft ) added, as shown

by Eq (7). The thickness of the fouling,  , can be calculated by multiplying the fouling

resistance and the thermal conductivity of fouling (  f ), as shown by Eq (8) [2].

According to this model, the fouling rate can be identified, and parameters of heat

transfer equipment can be optimized to keep the fouling deposits at a negligible level.

This model has high accuracy and is used in a large number of studies [8].

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 Rf    Re0.8 Pr 0.33eE / RTW   Re0.8 (6)

Rft 1  Rft  Rf ' dt (7)

  Rf t  f (8)

  Di  vt
Ret  (9)


Cp  

f
Pr 

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(10)


r
  0.01227 
0.7543
Re0.38
-p (11)
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Where,  and  are constant; Re is Reynolds number, and can be calculated by
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Eq (9); Pr is Prandtl number, and can be calculated by Eq (10); R is universal gas

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constant; E is activation energy; Di represent the inner diameter of tube; vt is

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velocity;  ,  and Cp denote destiny, viscosity, and specific heat capacity,

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respectively;  is thermal conductivity and can be calculated by Eq (11) [22].

Since the bulk temperature of hot and cold streams changes inside the heat exchanger,

the wall temperature is not uniform and varies along with the heat exchanger; its

variation depends on the structure of the heat exchanger, temperature distribution, and

physical properties of the flows. Consequently, the deposition rate of fouling varies

across the heat exchanger. The average fouling rate is calculated according to the

average wall temperature.

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3.3 Model of heat exchangers

The heat load of each heat exchanger, Qijk , can be calculated according to Eq (12).

Qijk  U jk  Aijk  Tijk (12)

Where U denotes the overall heat transfer coefficient; Tijk is the average temperature

difference.

The total heat transfer coefficient can be calculated based on Eq (13). In this equation,

the resistance to heat transfer imposed by the wall of the tube is ignored, as well as the

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correction factor for the film transfer coefficient.

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U jk  1/ hh, j  1/ hc ,k  Rf 
1 -p (13)
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Where, Rf is the fouling resistance, hh, j and hc ,k are the film heat transfer
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coefficients of hot stream j and cold stream k, subscripts h and c denote hot and cold

streams, respectively.
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For heat exchangers, the driving force of heat transfer is described by the logarithmic
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mean temperature difference, as shown by Eq. (20).

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Tm,ijk 
T 
h ,ijk  Tc,ijk   Th,ijk  Tc,ijk 
 T   T   (14)
ln  h,ijk c,ijk 
 T T
 h,ijk c ,ijk 
Where, T  and T  are the inlet and outlet temperatures of heat exchanger, as shown

in Figure 1.

If the temperature differences of both sides of the heat exchanger are equal, the

arithmetic mean temperature difference is used. The correlations for the temperature

changes of hot and cold sides are shown by Eqs. (15) -(18).

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 Qijk
Th,ijk  Th,ij  (15)
CPh ,ij

Qijk
Tc,ijk  Tc,ik  (16)
CPc ,ik

Nc
Th,ij   X h,ijkTh,ijk (17)
k 1

Nh
T 
  X c ,ijk Tc,ijk (18)

f
c ,ik

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j 1

Where, X h ,ijk and X c ,ijk represent the fraction of hot stream j and cold stream k

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participating in the heat exchange in stage i, CP represents the heat capacity flow rate.
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The outlet temperature of each heat exchanger ( T  ) can be calculated based on Eqs (19)
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- (21).
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
 1  Rh ,ijk   e
 NTU ijk 1 Rh ,ijk 

Rh ,ijk  1  e

 NTU ijk  1 Rh ,ijk

 

  
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 NTU ijk 1 Rh ,ijk  

 NTU ijk  1 Rh ,ijk
 1  Rh ,ijk  e 1  Rh ,ijk e 
Th ,ijk , Tc ,ijk   Th ,ijk , Tc ,ijk 
   
(19)
  NTU ijk 1 Rh ,ijk 

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 1 e 1  Rh ,ijk 
  NTU ijk 1 Rh ,ijk   NTU ijk 1 Rh ,ijk  
 1  Rh ,ijk  e 1  Rh ,ijk e 

Rh ,ijk  CPh ,ijk / CPc ,ijk (20)

NTU ijk  (UA)ijk / CPh ,ijk (21)

Where, Rh ,ijk is the ratio of hot stream’s heat capacity flow rate to that of cold stream;

NTU ijk denotes the number of heat transfer units between hot stream j and cold stream

k in stage i.

In HEN, bypasses are set at one side (hot stream side or cold stream side) of some heat

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exchangers, and the opening of the bypass is assumed to be 1-u. The heat capacity of

the main stream participating in the heat exchange ( CPhn/ecw,ijk ) is u times that of the unsplit

stream, as shown by Eq (22). The mixed temperature of bypass and main stream does

not equal the outlet one of the heat exchanger and should be modified according to Eq

(23). Both equations can be used for hot streams and cold streams.

/ c ,ijk  uCPh / c ,ijk

CPhnew (22)

Th/ c,ijk  (1  u)Th/ c,ij  uTh/ c,ijk

f
(23)

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The temperature of the hot and cold streams changes along with the heat exchanger, as

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well as the wall temperature of tubes, and their distribution is affected by the type of

heat exchanger and the physical characteristics of fluids. Because of this, the deposition
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rate of fouling varies throughout the heat exchanger. The average fouling rate can be
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calculated based on the average wall temperature ( Tw ), which is calculated by Eq (24).

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hhTH  hcTC
Tw 
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(24)
hh  hc
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Where, TH and TC denote the average temperature of hot and cold streams.

3.4 Key factors and their optimization

3.4.1 Heat exchanger area margin

In the production process, the demanded heat exchange area for heating or cooling a

stream to the target temperature might increase after a certain operation period due to

the fouling of the heat exchanger. The performance of heat exchanger might deviate

from the initial best point gradually along with the decrease of heat exchange efficiency,

and this will lead to a continuous increase in operating costs. Because of this, heat

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exchanger area margin should be adopted to guarantee the HEN’s performance in the

whole operating cycle. Its value can be determined based on qualitative analysis.

The heat exchanger cannot be operated at its optimal point throughout the operating

cycle because of the existence of heat exchange margin. The optimal margin should be

identified to guarantee the heat exchanger to be operated at the optimal point for a long

period, and the HEN has the minimum cost in the whole cycle. At the beginning of the

operating cycle, the HEN might not be operated at its optimal point. Due to the

continuous fouling, the excess margin will be gradually consumed, the HEN approaches

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the optimal point gradually, and the operating cost is maintained at a low level. At the

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end of the cycle, the margin is exhausted, the network begins to deviate from the
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optimal operating point, and the operating cost rises. On the whole, the operating cost
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decreases first along time and then increases.
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In the optimization, the bypass is set and adjusted to reduce the effect of excessive heat
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exchanger area margin during the initial stage. By adjusting the bypass opening, the

area margin of a heat exchanger can be utilized according to demand. Ideally, a

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reasonable margin can make the utility consumption to be relatively stable, and its
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performance can be optimal throughout the entire cycle.

3.4.2 Flow velocity and heat transfer coefficient

For a heat exchanger, its heat transfer coefficient increases along with the flow rate of

hot and cold streams, as shown by Eq (25), its performance improves as well, while the

fouling rate decreases. Because of this, the cost of cold and hot utility decreases while

the pressure drop of the heat exchanger increases. The latter causes the increment of the

pump’s investment cost and operating cost. The change of velocity mainly influence

Re , and the simple power law shown by Eq (26) can be applied to calculate the heat

14
transfer coefficient of the subsequent period with less computational time.

 0.8 0.4
h  0.023 Re Pr (25)
Di

vt 1 0.8
ht 1  ht 0  ( ) (26)
vt 0

3.4.3 Bypass opening

The bypass is used to control the flow rate of stream inlets into a heat exchanger. At the

beginning of the cycle, the heat exchanger has less fouling and sufficient margin, the

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bypass flow rate can be higher, while it can be reduced to a smaller value, even zero, at

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the end of the cycle. This strategy can maintain the inlet and outlet temperatures of the
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downstream heat exchanger to the initial design value. It should be noted that the
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introduction of bypass might increase the cost of power equipment.
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As the bypass opening is adjusted, the heat exchanger’s fouling rate and heat transfer
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coefficient are affected. Increasing the flow rate inside the heat exchanger can erode the
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deposited fouling, increase the heat transfer coefficient, and enhance the heat transfer

efficiency.
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The bypass can be set at different positions for a hot or cold stream flowing through

multiple heat exchangers. If the bypass is added before the inlet of a heat exchanger, it

affects this heat exchanger and other downstream heat exchangers. The existence of

bypass can reduce the load of a heat exchanger, increase the outlet temperature of the

hot stream and lower the outlet temperature of the cold stream, no matter it is placed on

the cold or hot side. Its impact depends on the heat capacity, flow rate, thermal

conductivity of cold and hot streams, and its location, as shown by Eqs (19)-(23) and

Eq (26). The total heat transfer coefficient might change significantly when the bypass

of the stream with a smaller heat transfer coefficient is adjusted, especially when the

15
heat transfer coefficients of the cold and hot streams differ by several orders of

magnitude. While adjusting the bypass of a stream with a greater heat transfer

coefficient has quite a little impact. The adjustment of bypass also affects the wall

temperature, which in turn affects the fouling rate. All these factors will be considered

in the optimization.

4. Solution Strategy
The model introduced above is a non-convex MINLP problem. No algorithm can

f
guarantee to identify the global optimum for such types of problems. The three main

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algorithms for solving MINLP problems are branch and bound algorithms, GBD

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algorithms, and OA algorithms, and they cannot be successful in all cases. In some
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cases, the algorithm converges slowly or even fails to converge, especially when
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solving non-convex problems. Some restrictions regarding the convexity and other

properties of the function involved are identified and suggest that the procedure cannot
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guarantee to identify the global optimal solution [13].

ur

The model introduced in Section 3 is based on the stage-wise superstructure and cannot
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be solved by algorithms relying on gradients, as the variables indicating whether two

streams exchange heat or not are discrete. The current solution trend is to disassemble

the original problem into a series of sub-problems that can be solved through the

method of model segmentation. These sub-problems can be solved by a gradient

optimization algorithm, which is one of the simple and common methods for global

optimization. SQP (sequential quadratic programming) algorithm is an excellent

algorithm based on the gradient and can also be directly used to solve the MINLP

problem when the binary variables are fixed [23]. Because of this, the SQP algorithm

will be applied to solve sub-problems in this work. To solve the problem efficiently, the

genetic algorithm (GA) is first applied to generate a series of potential structures whose

16
TAC is less than an acceptable value. Each structure with fixed heat exchange matches

will be studied further in the optimization. Secondly, the influence of bypass location

is analyzed to avoid solving the binary variables directly. Thirdly, the effect of heat

exchanger area on total cost is studied independently and transformed into another

problem, as the heat exchanger area is an implicit variable, and it is difficult to obtain

its derivative to the objective function.

The main solution steps are shown in Figure 3, and the detailed procedures are

introduced in Sections 4.1~4.4, respectively. Based on these steps, the optimization of

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potential structure is a nonlinear programming problem (NLP) and can be solved by a

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MATLAB solver based on the SQP (sequential quadratic programming) algorithm [23].
-p
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Optimized variables: structure of HEN; bypass location; area of
HEN; bypass opening; velocity
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Optimize bypass
Optimize structure Optimize area of HEN
location
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Optimize bypass opening and

velocity together

Figure 3. Main solution steps of the MINLP model

4.1 Optimization of potential structure

In this stage, the target of optimization is to minimize the total annualized cost (TAC),

as shown by Eq (27). The flow rate of each stream is set as constant, and no bypass

exists. Besides, the fouling rate is ignored, and the thermal resistance of fouling is

constant. The operation and investment costs of power equipment are not considered,

as they are almost the same when flowsheets are similar, the flow rate of the stream is

17
constant, and their consideration will cost much more calculation.

t
min TAC   CHE  Cu ,o
0

Qijk  Qij
(27)
 Q
k 0 j 0
ijk  Qi

0  X ijk  1

GA is a random parallel search algorithm based on the principles of natural selection

and gene evolution. It is efficient in seeking global optimization without any

f
initialization information. In this method, the solution set of the problem is taken as a

oo
population. Through continuous selection, crossover, mutation, and other genetic

r
-p
operations, the quality of the solution is optimized.

The optimization variables include Qijk, Xh,ijk and Xc,ijk. Qijk is the heat transfer load
re
between hot stream j and cold stream k in stage i. If it is 0, the corresponding match
lP

does not exist. Xh,ijk and Xc,ijk represent stream’s split fraction, lie between 0 and 1 and
na

need to be normalized after initialization. The detail of programing is referred to

ur

Rathjens and Fieg [24]. Some potential structures with lower TAC are selected based
Jo

on GA. Since both investment and operating costs of heat exchangers are considered,

it is credible that, among these structures, there is an optimal structure with the lowest

total cost.

In order to reduce the difficulty of subsequent algorithms, it is necessary to remove

similar structures generated by GA. The Manhattan distance [26], shown by Eq (28), is

used to judge the similarity of two structures. If the distance between two structures is

greater than a certain threshold, one of them is excluded.

n
dis tan ce( x, y )   xi  yi (28)
i 1

Where, x and y are vectors composed of various information of two structures.

18
However, the data representing different potential structures generated by GA cannot

be compared directly and need to be preprocessed. Data with a split fraction less than

0.01 or a negative heat transfer load are noise item and should be corrected to zero. The

value of the split fraction is very important for HEN; multiplying the split fraction by

weight can contribute to the total distance on the same magnitude order as the heat

transfer load to identify the unique HEN from different potential structures efficiently.

4.2 Optimization of bypass location

f
oo
With a bypass set at the hot side of a heat exchanger, the hot stream inlet into the heat

r
exchanger decreases along with the bypass opening, and its heat exchanged with the
-p
cold stream decreases as well. As a result, the outlet temperature of the heat exchanger
re
on the hot side will change, and that on the cold side will decrease. The existence of
lP

bypass at the cold side also will reduce the load of heat exchanger. Mixing the outlet
na

hot stream of the heat exchanger and the bypass causes the temperature in this stage to

rise; mixing the bypass on the cold side with the main stream will reduce the cold
ur

stream’s outlet temperature. Both lead to an increase in the efficiency of a downstream

Jo

heat exchanger, because the greater the temperature difference, the better the

performance of the heat exchanger. However, when a loop exists in HEN, it is

impossible to identify the effect of a bypass on temperature through simple rules.

Targeting the best bypass location is necessary.

The bottleneck of HEN is the pinch point, which corresponds to the minimum

temperature difference. If the bypass is set near the pinch, adjusting the bypass opening

will significantly affect the minimum temperature difference and the corresponding

heat exchangers’ duty. Therefore, the influence of bypass set near the pinch point will

be studied in this work. For a HEN with a single pinch, the maximum number of

19
bypasses is set to 5 according to the testing experiment’s result and the Pinch theory

guide. The existence of bypass reduces the temperature difference between the cold and

hot streams after heat exchange. The increase in the number of bypasses may demand

more heat exchange area and result in the increment of cost [26]. The optimization

target in this section is to minimize the total annualized cost (TAC) considering the

maximum number of bypasses, as shown by Eq (29).

t
min  Cu ,o
0

f
0  uijk  1

oo
(29)
Ns N h N c

 ceil (u ijk )5

r
i 1 i  0 k  0
-p
The steps to optimize the bypass position are as follows:
re
1) For a fixed initial HEN structure obtained by the genetic algorithm, calculate the
lP

initial area of each heat exchanger. Since there is no fouling resistance initially,

the heat exchange area is minimum and will be referred to as the minimum area
na

in the following description.

ur

2) With the inlet and outlet temperatures of each heat exchanger unchanged,
Jo

calculate the heat exchange area required to make the temperature unaltered at

the end of the cycle. In the following description, the maximum area refers to

that could guarantee the expected heat exchange performance at the end of the

cycle.

3) Target the optimal bypass opening in the operating cycle based on the SQP

method.

4) Calculate the cumulative utility cost of the HEN with different bypass locations

in three cases: the area of each heat exchanger is set to the minimum; the area of

each heat exchanger is set to the maximum; only the areas of heat exchangers

20
 with bypasses are set to the maximum and the others are set to the minimum.

5) Calculate the cumulative costs of setting bypass on the heat exchanger across

the pinch point and the adjacent heat exchangers with a distance of 1; calculate

the cumulative costs of HEN with the same number of bypasses under different

heat exchanger locations.

6) Analyze the cost of different situations, and identify the rule for setting the

optimal bypass.

f
oo
4.3 Optimization of the heat exchange area

r
The potential structures obtained based on the GA method could be further optimized
-p
with the heat exchanger area margin considered. The value of the area margin should
re
be optimized considering the adjustment of bypasses. This is a dynamic NLP problem,
lP

and the variables optimized in each period are the bypass opening and flow velocity.
na

The value range of each bypass opening is 0 -1, and the flow velocity of each stream is

0.5 -1.5 m/s.

ur

t
min  Cu ,o
Jo

0  ui  1 (30)
0.5  vi  1.5
k  Aijk  Aijk
Aijmin max

In the model of optimizing the area margin, there are a series of implicit equations. Due

to the existence of exponential functions and their infinity at 0, the solution of the model

is difficult. The exhaustive method and SQP method are combined to solve the problem.

Specific steps are as follow:

1) For the heat exchanger with fouling, five areas evenly distributed between the

minimum and maximum values are selected. In terms of avoiding traversing

all conditions, an orthogonal design experiment is carried out. A few hundred

21
 sets of experiments can roughly reflect the results of millions of experiments.

Based on this, changes in various factors can be considered.

2) The flow velocity, heat transfer area, and bypass opening are set to values

under one condition; each exchanger’s inlet and outlet temperatures can be

obtained by solving Eqs (12)-(21) simultaneously.

3) In each period, identify the optimal bypass opening and flow velocity, which

corresponds to the lowest amount of utilities, using the SQP method.

4) For other potential structures, target the optimal cumulative utilities

f
oo
corresponding to different combinations of heat exchange areas.

r
4.4 Mapping of neural network
-p
re
As mentioned in the previous section, the variables containing the heat exchanger area
lP

margin cannot be identified easily by solving equations. The fitting method can be
na

adopted to simplify this problem. In this paper, the data of Section 4.3 are input into a

neural network to reflect the mapping relationship. The output of the neural network is
ur

the cumulative utility consumption in the whole cycle. In terms of displaying the
Jo

information of HEN’s structure and considering the heat exchanger area margin, the

input information contains:

1) The relative value of the heat exchanger area is compared with the minimum

and maximum values.

2) The sum of all heat exchanger areas in the case with maximum value.

3) The total number of times that a stream passes through the heat exchanger

with margin. The number of nodes representing this information depends on

that of streams.

4) The distance between the heat exchanger with margin and that around the

22
 operating pinch. The calculation of the distance is a recursive process, and the

main steps are as follows:

i. Judge whether the heat exchanger crosses the pinch. If yes, the distance is

0; if not, go to step ii.

ii. Search the shortest distance to the heat exchanger crossing the pinch from

one side of the heat exchanger (The port number on the hot side is 0; the

port number on the cold side is 1).

iii. Judge whether its upstream and downstream heat exchanger crosses the

f
oo
pinch. If yes, add 1 to both the distance and port number, and return to step

r
ii; if not, go to step iv.

iv.
-p
If the port number is not 1, add 1 to the port number and go to step iii; if
re
it is, its downstream heat exchanger is the search object of step ii.
lP

v. Stop searching when the search of both sides of the heat exchanger reaches
na

the ends of hot and cold streams or the cross-pinch heat exchanger.

vi. Calculate the sum of the distances of each side to get the lowest distance.
ur

The data obtained in Section 4.3 is input into the model of the neural network. After the
Jo

neural network is trained, the relationship between different heat exchanger areas and

the accumulative utility consumption during an operating cycle is obtained and is

clearly programmable. Based on this, the SQP method can be used to optimize the area

of each heat exchanger before optimizing the flow rate and bypass opening.

4.5 Optimizing the bypass opening and velocity

Heat exchangers operating at temperatures above the fouling threshold have severe

fouling deposits. Changing its operating conditions can reduce fouling deposits.

According to the threshold model, the fouling can be reduced by increasing flow

23
velocity. The change in the flow velocity caused by the bypass also affects the film

transfer coefficient inside the heat exchanger. The wall temperature decreases as the

cold stream’s film transfer coefficient increases or the hot stream decreases.

Based on the procedure proposed in Sections 4.1~4.4, the complicated problems to

optimize the structure, bypass location, heat exchanger area margin, bypass opening

and flow velocity can be simplified to optimize several potential HEN structures with

fixed heat exchange areas. The SQP method can be used to optimize the flow velocity

and bypass opening at the same time. The main steps are as follows:

f
oo
i. Optimize the bypass opening and flow velocity in each period in terms of

r
pumps’ operating cost and the cost of utilities.

ii.
-p
Calculate the cumulative operating cost of the operating cycle, and add it to
re
the investment cost to obtain the total cost of the whole cycle.
lP

iii. Compare the total cost of different structures and identify the best HEN and
na

the bypass opening throughout the cycle.

The overall design of the program is shown in Figure 4.

ur
Jo

24
 Start

Input the initial and target temperatures of

streams and their property parameters
Maintain the inlet and outlet temperature of each
Identify a series of potential structures with lower
heat exchanger unchanged, and calculate the heat
TAC by the genetic algorithm. The variation of
exchange area required to maintain the
flowrate and the existence of bypass are ignored
temperature at the end of cycle

Set the outlet temperature of each sub-stream as a constant, and

identify the maximum and minimum area of each heat Target the optimal bypass opening in the full
exchanger. Use the orthogonal experiment to identify the cycle use SQPmethod
cumulative cost of heat exchangers under different areas

Generate an artificial neural network to reflect the

relationship between the area and the configuration of Obtain the sum of cumulative operating cost and
HEN investment cost of the HEN with different
bypasses and fixed heat exchanger areas

f
Obtain the general setting rule of
Optimize the bypass opening and flowrate in each period in

oo
bypass through comparing the HEN
terms of minimizing the total operating cost
analyzed above

Calculate the total cost of the whole cycle, including the

r
cumulative operating cost of the full cycle and the investment cost
-p
Compare the total cost of different structures,
identity the best one and the opening of bypass
re
End
throughout the cycle
lP

Figure 4. The overall design of the program

na

In this procedure, the potential HEN structures identified based on the GA algorithm

are local optimal solutions. They are further optimized considering the variation of
ur

bypass location, heat exchange area, bypass opening and velocity. Based on this, the
Jo

global or near-global optimal heat exchanger network and corresponding bypass

location and heat exchange area throughout the operating cycle are identified. Although

the tube-shell heat exchanger is selected in this work, the proposed method can be used

for the systems with any types of heat exchangers. The equations for calculating

temperature, heat exchange efficiency and pressure drop should be changed according

to the type of heat exchangers.

5. Case study
The HEN shown in Figure 5 is a simplified version of the case studied by Smaïli et al.

25
[27] and will be used to illustrate the application of the proposed method. The

parameters of streams are shown in Table 1. All heat exchangers in this work are taken

as the tube-shell heat exchanger, which is used in the referred literature and is widely

applied in the petrochemical industry; the diameter and the number of tubes are set as

0.025 m and 85, respectively. When the flow velocity in the heat exchanger is 1m/s, the

Re, Pr, and initial convection coefficients of streams are listed in Table 1. Hot oil [28]

and cold water are used, and their data are shown in Table 2.

Crude Oil

f
C9

oo
C10

r
H1 H3
H6
-p
re
lP

Flash H2
C8
na

H4 H5 H7 Furnace
ur

Figure 5. Simplified flow diagram for case study

Jo

The HEN will be optimized by the proposed method to identify the optimal structure

with minimum total cost (including investment costs and cumulative energy costs). In

the optimization, the efficiency of pump is taken as 70%, and the operating cost of

pumps is calculated with the price of electricity taken as 400 $/(kW·year). The

operating cycle of this system is three years. In order to reduce the calculation time, the

whole cycle is divided into 12 periods with 90 days per period. The upper bound of the

heat exchanger area interval used in the genetic algorithm is set as ten times the TAC

reported in the literature [27].

26
 Table 1 Operating data for case study
Mass Temperature, C
Cp, , kW/(m·C- , kW/(m2·C-
Streams Flow Re Pr
Inlet Outlet kJ/(kg·C) 1
) 1
)
rate, kg/s

H1 49.7 170 148.3 2.6 58,333 5.6 0.14 1,401

H2 55.8 205 132.6 2.6 43,750 7.4 0.14 1,213

H3 49.7 237 196.8 2.6 35,000 9.3 0.14 1,085

H4 19 249 126.8 2.8 35,000 10.0 0.14 1,110

H5 45.8 286 236 2.9 35,000 10.4 0.14 1,121

f
oo
H6 3.3 296 202.3 2.9 35,000 10.4 0.14 1,121

H7 34.8 334 225 2.8 35,000 10.0 0.14 1,109

r
C1 92 178 232
-p
2.4 35,469 14.5 0.14 1,638
re
C2 95 135 178 2.3 35,469 13.9 0.14 1,610

C3 95 26 145 1.92 23,646 11.6 0.14 1,083

lP

Note:  and  denote the thermal conductivity and convective heat transfer coefficient, respectively.
na

Table 2 Data of utilities

ur

Temperature, ℃ Thermal conductivity, Price,

Streams
Jo

Inlet Outlet kW/(m·C-1) $/(kW·year)

Hot oil 330 250 0.5 60

Cooling water 10 30 1.5 6

The HEN’s model and optimization algorithm are implemented on a computer with

AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 6-Core Processor CPU and 16 GB RAM based on MATLAB

R2019b. It took 2.8 hours to identify 18 structures using the genetic algorithm. It takes

6s to target the cost corresponding to different bypass positions and 6s to target the cost

corresponding to different heat exchange areas. The average time required for the final

optimization of each potential structure is 0.6 h. Figure 6 shows the relationship

27
between the distance and the operating cost during the whole cycle (Note, the distance

of all bypasses setting on the heat exchanger crossing the pinch (HECP) and its adjacent

heat exchangers is 0). The abscissa represents the sum of the distance between the heat

exchanger with a bypass and the HECP (or its adjacent heat exchangers). The ordinate

represents the cumulative utility consumption. This figure shows that the HEN with the

shortest distance corresponds to the lowest utility cost. Therefore, the bypasses should

be set around the HECP. The maximum possible number of bypasses is 5; one bypass

is located on the HECP; 2 bypasses are located on the upstream and downstream of

f
oo
HECP on the hot side, and 2 bypasses are located on the cold side.

r
-p
re
lP
na
ur
Jo

Figure 6. The influence of bypass location on operating cost

Figure 7 illustrates the cumulative cost of four cases with three bypasses and different

positions. The number with an abscissa value of 0 represents the bypass set on the hot

side; 1 represents the bypass set on the cold side. It can be seen that the HEN has the

minimum cost when all bypasses are arranged on the hot side, while it has the maximum

cost when all bypasses are arranged on the cold side. Additionally, adjusting the location

of one bypass from the hot side to the cold side will increase cost. The reason is that the

28
temperature of hot stream is higher than that of cold stream and has a greater impact on

the fouling rate of the heat exchanger. Adjusting the hot stream through bypass can

improve the fouling. In summary, the bypass should be set at the hot side of heat

exchanger.

f
r oo
-p
re
lP
na

Figure 7. The difference of bypasses locating at hot and cold sides

Figure 8 presents the scatter plots corresponding to four different structures and shows
ur

that the HEN with higher area investment generally has a lower operating cost. While
Jo

in the optimal design, not all heat exchangers are set to the maximum area. Each heat

exchanger’s area should be optimized to identify the optimal design.

Six different cases with different overall heat exchanger areas are compared in Figure

9. When the heat exchange area equals the smallest area, 19,385 m2, the system

consumes the maximum utility throughout the operating cycle. This shows that the heat

exchanger area margin is too small. After a period of operation, the heat exchanger area

cannot be released further through adjusting bypass, and the efficiency of the heat

exchanger reaches the maximum.

29
 (a1) (a2)

f
r oo
-p
re
lP
na

(a3) (a4)

Figure 8. The effect of the total area on accumulative utility cost

ur

For all cases, the operating costs showed a trend of decreasing first and then increasing.
Jo

The reason is that the heat exchange area is excessive, the performance of the heat

exchanger is poor at the beginning, and more hot utility or cold utility is consumed

compared with the case with the minimum area; as the operating time increases, the

heat exchanger area margin is gradually released, and this can make up for the side

effects caused by the accumulation of fouling; at the end, the impact of fouling becomes

more and more serious, and the HEN consumes more utilities. When the total heat

exchange area is taken as the maximum value among six cases (96,883 m2), the area is

always surplus, and the operating costs decrease throughout the operating cycle. It is

30
worth mentioning that even if the system has the largest area, its operating cost in the

early stage of the operation is not the lowest. The adjustment of the bypass on different

heat exchangers and its effect is significantly different. In general, the larger the area,

the later the best efficiency point reached.

f
r oo
-p
re
lP
na
ur

Figure 9. The operating cost corresponds to different areas

The performance of the neural network is tested in different situations. A neural network
Jo

with 14 hidden layers, as shown by Figure 10, could model the relationship between

the area and the operating cost of each HEN efficiently. The optimal learning rate is

0.45, and the momentum factor is 0.78. Tansig function shown by Eq (31) is suitable

for the activation function of the hidden layer [29]. Based on this model, the relationship

of area and cost is converted into a continuous function through a neural network,

whose Hessian matrix could be used in the SQP algorithm. The neural network’s

performance is shown by Figure 11, in which the abscissa represents the practical value,

and the ordinate represents the output of the neural network. The trained neural network

can accurately map the relationship among key parameters, as all the values of R2 are

31
greater than 0.97 during the training, validation, and test periods. Based on this, the

flow velocity and bypass opening in each period are optimized to obtain the minimum

total cost of each potential structure in the operating cycle.

f
r oo
-p
re
lP

Figure 10. The structure of the neural network

na

2
f ( x)  1 (31)
1  e2 x
ur

Where e is a natural constant.

Jo

32
 f
r oo
-p
re
lP
na
ur
Jo

Figure 11. The mapping effect of neural network

The cost comparison of potential structures is shown in Figure 12. Structure 16 is the

optimal one among all potential structures generated by GA, and its detailed structure

is shown in Figure 13 (with fixed operating conditions and all bypass included).

Structure 19 corresponds to the original network reported by Smaïli et al. [27]. Its total

cost exceeds structure 16 significantly; the cost of utilities accounts for the majority.

Therefore, it is reasonable to use the utility cost as the optimization target in Sections

4.2 and 4.3, and the impact on the global optimization is relatively small.

33
 2.5

Cost, 106 $
1.5

0.5

0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
Operating Period

Accumulative utility cost HEN Investment Cost

Accumulative Electricity Cost Pump Investment Cost

f
oo
Figure 12. The cost comparison of different potential structures

r
170
-p 0.8163
9
148.3
re
H1 4 10
1,106 kW

205 11
0.5 1,951 kW 132.6
lP

H2 12
1,163 kW
583 kW

237
197
na

H3 7 13
10,678 kW
1,952 kW

3,256 kW

596 kW
249
126.8
ur

H4 8 15
3,748 kW
3,348 kW

1,778 kW

286 10,413 kW
Jo

236
H5 1 2
16,218 kW

894 kW

296 646 kW
202.3
H6 14
1,545 kW

334 0.32 6 3,060 kW 225

H7 3 5
12,932 kW

744 kW
0 kW

6,137 kW 178

3 5 8 11 C1

12,951 kW 135

1 2 6 9 14 C2
0.85
13
26
2,262 kW
4 7 10 15 C3
0.85
12

Figure 13. The optimal structures under initial conditions

For structure 16, the energy consumption with optimized flow velocity and bypass in

34
each period is shown in Figure 14. The ordinate value greater than 0 represents the

demand for cold utility, and that less than 0 corresponds to that for hot utility. Some

streams consume a large amount of utility at the beginning, while the energy

consumption of some other streams lies within a specific range; the HEN needs few

utilities basically from the middle stage to the end.

f
r oo
-p
re
lP
na

Figure 14. Energy consumption of each stream in the operating cycle (structure 16)
ur

Based on Figure13 and Figure 14, the energy consumption under fixed operating
Jo

conditions is compared with that under variable conditions. It can be obtained that

adjusting the flow velocity and bypass can save more than 78% of utility in a period.

During the three-year operation period, the total cost of structure 16 is 740,000 dollars,

62 % less than that reported in the literature [27] (1.97 million dollars).

Since this paper focuses on the generality of optimization strategy, a fixed geometry is

selected for the considered heat exchangers in this case study. It should be noted that,

although the variation of the structure parameters of the heat exchanger will not affect

the optimization strategy of HEN, it will affect the computational time.

35
6. Conclusion
The model established in this paper can optimize the HEN in the operating cycle. The

analysis on the influence of bypass location shows that setting the bypass at the pinch

point is most economical, and all bypasses should be located on the hot side rather than

the cold side. The trained neural network performs excellent and can predict the

relationship of heat exchange area and cost. The GA algorithm can generate the

economically potential structure. The SQP method can optimize the flow velocity and

f
bypass opening simultaneously based on the simplified model and the guidance of the

oo
neural network. The stage-wise solution procedure is efficient for targeting the optimal

r
heat exchanger network in the operating cycle. The identified optimal HEN can save
-p
62 % of the total cost compared with the HEN reported in the literature.
re
Cleaning heat exchangers can directly remove the fouling and is beneficial to decrease
lP

the operating cost, while it is not considered in this paper. With the cleaning schedule
na

introduced, the location and opening of optimal bypass might change, as well as the
ur

economic benefit and adjustment of solution steps. In the operating cycle, the uncertain
Jo

factors in production, such as the variation of feed and the operating parameters of key

reactors and separators, affect the optimization. The proposed method can be extended

with these factors taken into account. This will be studied in future work.

Acknowledgements
Financial supports provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China

(21736008) and (22078259) are gratefully acknowledged.

Appendix
Calculation of power equipment cost:

36
In the optimization, the straight pipe resistance ( Pi ), the local resistance at the inlet

and outlet of the tube ( Pr ), and the local resistance at the inlet and outlet of heat

exchanger ( Pn ) are described by Eqs (A1)(12)~ (A3) [30], respectively. The total

resistance that a stream needs to overcome, Po , is their sum, as shown by Eq (A4).

L v2
Pi   Nt (A1)
Di 2

v2
Pr   Nt (A2)

f
2

oo
v2

r
Pn  1.5  (A3)
2 -p
re
Po  Pi  Pr  Pn (A4)
lP

Where L is the length of tube; Di is the inner diameter of the tube; N t is the total

number of tubes in an exchanger;  is density.

na

The investment and operating costs of the pump/compressor are related to the pressure
ur

head and flow rate and can be calculated according to the variation of pressure obtained
Jo

above, as shown by Eq (A5)Error! Reference source not found. and Eq (A6)Error!

Reference source not found. [31].

 V  Po,t 
C pope
,i   
t 
ec 
 
(A5)

,i  1410  90  (V  max(Po,t ))
C pcap 0.86
(A6)

Where ec is the electricity price;  is efficiency; V is the flow rate in volume.

37
Nomenclature
A Heat exchanger area, m2

b Constant in heat exchanger cost model, $/m2

c Constant in heat exchanger cost model

CCU Cost of cold utility per unit, $/(kW·yr)

Cfix Fixed cost in heat exchanger cost model, $

CHE The investment of heat exchanger network, $

f
oo
CHU Cost of hot utility per unit, $/(kW·yr)

r
CO The total cost in operating cycle, $
-p
re
C pcap,i The capital cost of pump, $
lP

C pope,i The operating cost of pump, $

na

Cu ,o Accumulative utility cost, $

Cp Specific heat capacity, kJ/(kg·°C)

ur

CPc ,ik The heat capacity flow rate of cold stream k, kW/°C
Jo

CPh ,ij The heat capacity flow rate of hot stream j, kW/°C

CPn The Heat capacity of stream n, kW/°C

Di Diameter, m

ec Electricity rate coefficient, $·s/(m3·Pa)

E Activation energy, kJ/mol

h The film transfer coefficient, kW/(m2·°C)

hc Film heat transfer coefficient of cold stream, kW/(m2·°C)

hh Film heat transfer coefficient of hot stream, kW/(m2·°C)

38
L The length of the tube, m

Ns The total stages of a heat exchanger network

Nt The total number of tubes in an exchanger

Nc The number of cold streams

Nh The number of hot streams

The number of heat transfer units between hot stream j and cold stream k in
NTU ijk
stage i.

f
Pr Prandtl number

oo
QCU Cold utility consumption, kW

r
QHU
-p
Hot utility consumption, kW
re
Qijk The heat transfer load between hot stream j and cold stream k in stage i, kW
lP

R Ideal gas constant (8.314 J/(mol·°C)

na

Rh,ijk The ratio of the hot stream’s CP to that of cold stream

ur

Re Reynolds number

The fouling resistance, m2·°C/kW

Jo

Rf

Rf  The fouling rate, m2·°C/(kW·yr)

Rft Fouling resistance at time t, m2·°C/kW

tn ,out The target temperature of a stream, °C

t n The outlet temperature of the heat exchanger, °C

T Temperature, °C

T The inlet temperature of the heat exchanger, °C

T  The outlet temperature of the heat exchanger, °C

39
 TC The average temperature of cold stream in the heat exchanger, °C

TH The average temperature of hot stream in the heat exchanger, °C

Tw The exchanger’s wall temperature, °C

u Bypass opening

U Overall heat transfer coefficient, kW/(m2·°C)

V Flow volume rate, m3/s

X c ,ijk The stream fraction of cold stream k exchanging heat in stage i

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X h ,ijk The stream fraction of hot stream j exchanging heat in stage i

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Greek Letters
-p
re
a Constant of fouling model, m2·°C/(kW·yr)
lP

 Constant of fouling model, m2·°C/(kW·yr)

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 The thickness of the fouling, m

P Pressure drop, Pa
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Pi The straight pipe resistance, Pa

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Pn The local resistance at the inlet and outlet of heat exchangers, Pa

Po The total resistance, Pa

Pr The local resistance at the inlet and outlet of the inner tube, Pa

Tijk The average temperature difference, °C

 Coefficient of local resistance

 The efficiency of electricity to power

 Thermal conductivity, kW/(m·°C)

f Thermal conductivity of fouling, kW/(m·°C)

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  Viscosity, Pa·s

vt Flow rate, m/s

 Destiny, kg/m3

Abbreviation

ANN Artificial neural network

BP Back propagation

GA Genetic algorithm

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HECP Heat exchanger crossing the pinch

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HEN Heat exchanger network

MINLP
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Mixed-integer nonlinear programming
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NLP Nonlinear programming
lP

SQP Sequential quadratic programming

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SVM Support vector machines

TAC Total annualized cost

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44
 Highlights

 A method is proposed to optimize heat exchanger network throughout the operating

cycle.

 The influences of fouling, heat exchanger area, bypasses and flowrate are
considered.

 The complex programing problem is simplified by a neural network.

 The model is decomposed into several subproblems and the optimization strategy

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is proposed.

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 The proposed method is efficient and can target the near global optimal solution.

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Declaration of interests

☒ The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships
that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

☐The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered
as potential competing interests:

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