The Air Cooler unit operation uses an ideal air mixture as a heat transfer medium to cool (or heat) an inlet process stream to a required exit stream condition. One or more fans circulate the air through bundles of tubes to cool process fluids. The air flow can be specified or calculated from the fan rating information. The Air Cooler can solve for many different sets of specifications, including: + Overall heat transfer coefficient, UA = Total air flow + Exit stream temperature Theory Steady State The Air Cooler uses the same basic equation as the Heat Exchanger unit operation; however, the Air Cooler operation can calculate the flow of air based on the fan rating information. The Air Cooler calculations are based on an energy balance between the air and process streams. For a cross-current Air Cooler, the energy balance is calculated as follows: Mair (Hout — Hin)air = Mprocess (Hin — Hout )process @ where: Maz = air stream mass flow rate Mprocess = process stream mass flow rate H = enthalpy The Air Cooler duty, Q, is defined in terms of the overall heat transfer coefficient, the area available for heat exchange, and the log mean temperature difference: Q=-UAAT MF, (2) where: U = overall heat transfer coefficient A = surface area available for heat transfer AT.m = log mean temperature difference (LMTD) F, = correction factor The LMTD correction factor, F;, is calculated from the geometry and configuration of the Air Cooler. Rigorous Air Cooler Functionality In Steady State mode, you can also access certain Aspen Exchanger Design and Rating functions on the Rigorous Air Cooler tab. You must install and license the EDR functions. Dynamics In dynamics, the Air Cooler tube is capable of storing inventory like other dynamic unit operations. The direction of the material flowing through the Air Cooler operation is governed by the pressures of the surrounding unit operations.Heat Transfer The Air Cooler uses the same basic energy balance equations as the Heat Exchanger unit operation. The Air Cooler calculations are based on an energy balance between the air and process streams. For a cross-current Air Cooler, the energy balance is shown as follows: d(V Hout) process (3) Mprocess (Hin — Hout process ~ Mair (Hin — Hout air =P——qr where: Mgr = air stream mass flow rate Mprocess = process stream mass flow rate p = density H = enthalpy V = volume of Air Cooler tube Dynamic Specifications HYSYS requires three overall specifications in order for the Air Cooler unit operation to fully solve in Dynamic mode: Dynamic Specifications Desc Overall UA The Overall UA is the product of the Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient (U) and the total area available for heat transfer (A). You can specify the value of UA on the Parameters page of the Design tab. Fan Rating Information The Fan Rating information characterizes the flow rate and cooling properties of the air flowing through the Air Cooler. HYSYS provides two methods to determine the Fan Rating information. For the Air Cooler Simple Design method, specify the following variables in the Sizing page of the Rating tab: + Demanded Speed + Design Speed + Design Flow + Max Acceleration (optional) For the ACOL Design method, specify + The Air Mass Flow Rate variable in the Sizing page of the Rating tab + The various Fan parameters in the HTFS - ACOL tab Pressure Drop HYSYS provides two options to determine the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet process streams:+ ppeciriea pressure arop (constant value) + Calculated pressure drop from K-value (value may vary with time) These pressure drop specifications can be made on the Specs page of the Dynamics tab. Pressure Drop The pressure drop of the Air Cooler can be determined in one of two ways: + Specify the pressure drop. This method assumes the pressure difference between the inlet process stream and outlet process stream is constant. This method is applicable to both Steady State and Dynamic modes. + Define a pressure flow relation in the Air Cooler by specifying a k-value. This method assumes the pressure difference between the inlet process stream and outlet process stream varies with time. This method is applicable only to Dynamic mode. If the pressure flow option is chosen for pressure drop determination in the Air Cooler, a k-value is used to relate the frictional pressure loss and flow through the exchanger. This relation is similar to the general valve equation: flow = \/density x k/Py — Ps 4) The general flow equation uses the pressure drop across the Heat Exchanger without any static head contributions. The quantity, P, - P2, is defined as the frictional pressure loss which is used to “size” the Air Cooler with a k-value. Using the pressure flow option, you must have an accurate k-value to generate valid/accurate results. HYSYS also provides a feature than enables you to calculate the k-value of the Air Cooler at steady state. This k-value can then be used in Dynamic mode to calculate the varying pressure difference between the inlet and outlet process streams. The Calculate K option is located on the Dynamics tab | Specs page of the Air Cooler property view. The following information is required for HYSYS to calculate the k-value in Steady State mode: + Completely defined inlet or outlet process stream (to obtain the flow and density variable value) + Pressure difference between the inlet and outlet stream + Solved Air Cooler operation HYSYS assumes no pressure difference in the air flowing through the Air Cooler operation. Air Cooler Property View Design Tab The Design tab contains the following pages: + Connections + Parameters = User Variables + NotesConnections Page On the Connections page, you can specify the feed and product streams attached to the Air Cooler. You can change the name of the operation in the Name field, You can also select the fluid package you want to use for the air cooler. The fluid package that is associated with the flowsheet is selected by default. If you want to take advantage of the activated Aspen Exchanger Design and Rating calculations, you can quickly convert the air cooler to a rigorous heat exchanger model using the Convert to Rigorous Model options. + Size Air Cooler lets you size the model automatically or interactively, optionally starting with a template file for either choice + Specify Geometry lets you use the EDR interface to directly enter key geometry to the model, or select values saved in an .edr file. Parameters Page On the Parameters page, the following information appears: Parameters Description Air Cooler Model Allows you to select the air cooler model from Cooler Simple Design and Rigorous Air Cooler. HTFS - ACOL or EDR models are available if they are installed and licensed as options. To use these models, select the Rigorous Air Cooler option Process Stream Delta P Allows you to specify the pressure drops (DP) for the process stream side of the Air Cooler. The pressure drop can be calculated if both the inlet and exit pressures of the process stream are specified. There is no pressure drop associated with the air stream. The air pressure through the Cooler is assumed to be atmospheric. Overall UA Contains the value of the Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient multiplied with the Total Area available for heat transfer. The Air Cooler duty is proportional to the log mean temperature difference, where UA is the proportionality factor. The UA can either be specified or calculated by HYSYS Configuration Displays the possible tube pass arrangements in the Air Cooler. There are eight different Air Cooler configurations to choose from. HYSYS determines the correction factor, Ft, based on the selected Air Cooler configuration. Air Intake/Outlet Temperatures The inlet and exit air stream temperatures can be specified or calculated by HYSYS. Air Intake Pressure The inlet air stream pressure has a default value of 1 atm: Specs PageUse the Air Cooler Design tab Specs page to enter values for the solver controls Max Iterations and Tolerance. Current Iteration and Current Error are read out as the solver progresses. User Variables Page The User Variables page enables you to create and implement your own user variables for the current operation. Notes Page The Notes page provides a text editor where you can record any comments or information regarding the specific unit operation or the simulation case in general. Rating Tab The Rating tab allows you to specify the fan rating information. The steady state and dynamic Air Cooler operations share the same fan rating information Note: In dynamics, the air flow must be calculated using the fan rating information. The Rating tab contains the following pages: + Sizing page. The content of this page differs depending on which option you selected in the Air Cooler Model drop-down list on the Parameters page of the Design tab. If you selected ERD or HTFS-Engines, this page displays only one field: Air Mass Flow Rate. + Nozzles page. This page appears only if the HYSYS Dynamics license is activated. Sizing Page (Simple Design) In the Sizing page, the following fan rating information appears for the Air Cooler operation when the HYSYS-Engines option is selected on the Parameters page of the Design tab. Fan Data Description Number of Fans Number of fans in the Air Cooler. Speed Actual speed of the fan in rpm (rotations per minute). Demanded speed Desired speed of the fan. * Steady State mode. The demanded speed is always equal the speed of the fan. The desired speed is either calculated from the fan rating information or user-specified. + Dynamic mode. The demanded speed should either be specified directly or from a Spreadsheet operation. If a control structure uses the fan speed as an output signal, it is the demanded speed which should be manipulated. Max Acceleration Applicable only in Dynamic mode. It is the rate at which the actual speed moves to the demanded speed. Design speed The reference Air Cooler fan speed. It is used in the calculation of the actual air flow through the Cooler.Design air flow The reference Air Cooler air flow. It is used in the calculation of the actual air flow through the Cooler. Current air flow This can be calculated or user-specified. If the air flow is specified no other fan rating information needs to be specified. Fan Is On By default, this check box is selected. You have the option to turn on or off the air cooler as desired. When you clear the check box, the temperature of the outlet stream of the air cooler will be identical to that of the inlet stream. The Fan Is On check box has the same function as setting the Speed to 0 rpm. The air flow through the fan is calculated using a linear relation: Fan Air Flow = 54 Design Speed x Design Flow @) In dynamic mode only, the actual speed of the fan is not always equal to the demanded speed. The actual fan speed after each integration time step is calculated as follows: Actual Speed = (Mas Acceleration) At + Actual Speed, © until Actual Speed = Demanded Speed Each fan in the Air Cooler contributes to the air flow through the Cooler, The total air flow is calculated as follows: Total Air Flow = S> Fan Air Flow (”) Sizing Page Rigorous Air Cooler The Sizing page for the Rigorous Air Cooler appears when the Rigorous Air Cooler option is selected on the Parameters page of the Design tab. HYSYS air coolers can have multiple fans, and HYSYS calculates the airflow from the sum of the airflows of each fan. For the Rigorous Air Cooler, you can only enter the total air mass flow rate for the air cooler, Nozzles Page The Nozzles page contains information regarding the elevation and diameter of the nozzles. The information provided in the Nozzles page is applicable only in Dynamic mode. Worksheet Tab The Worksheet tab contains a summary of the information contained in the stream property view for all the streams attached to the Air Cooler. Note: The PF Specs page is relevant to dynamics cases only. Performance Tab The Performance tab contains pages that display the results of the Air Cooler calculationsNote: The Profiles page is relevant to dynamics cases only. Performance Results Page The information from the Results page is shown as follows: Results Description Working Fluid Duty This is defined as the change in duty from the inlet to the exit process stream. Aprocess,in + Duty = Hprocessout (8) LMTD Correction Factor, Ft The correction factor is used to calculate the overall heat exchange in the Air Cooler. It accounts for different tube pass configurations. UA The product of the Overall Heat Transfer Coefficient, and the Total Area available for heat transfer. The UA can either be specified or calculated by HYSYS. LMTD The LMTD is calculated in terms of the temperature approaches (terminal temperature difference) in the exchanger, using the following uncorrected LMTD equation: AT,-AT, (9) ATim = In(47,/4T) where AT1 = Thot,out ~ Tcold,in AT2 = Thot,in ~ Tcold,out Inlet/Outlet Process Temperatures The inlet and outlet process stream temperatures can be specified or calculated in HYSYS. Inlet/Outlet Air Temperatures The inlet and exit air stream temperatures can be specified or calculated in HYSYS. Air Inlet Pressure The inlet air stream pressure has a default value of 1 atm Total Air flow The total air flowrate appears in volume and mass units, Performance Profiles Page The Dynamic Results table displays the temperature and vapor fraction of each zone in the Air Cooler, Performance Plots Page + From the X Variable and Y Variable drop-down lists, select the variables you want to use for the x and y-axes. + Use the Setup page to determine number of plot points (intervals) and the variables that may be read into the X or Y axis of the Plot. The page lists all available variables in the simulation, and lets you select which ones to use within the plot.Performance Tables Page + Use the Setup page to determine the intervals (plot points) and variables to be made available to the Performance Table x and y axes. The page lists all available variables in the simulation, and lets you select which ones to use within the table. + Use the Phase Viewing Options to selectively examine results for a particular phase or phases. Performance Setup Page Use the Setup page to determine the intervals (plot points) and variables to be made available to the Performance Table x and y axes. The page lists all available variables in the simulation, and lets you select which ones to use within the table Dynamics Tab The Dynamics tab contains the following pages: * Model + Specs + Holdup + Stripchart + Malfunction In dynamics, the air flow must be calculated using the fan rating information. Note: If you are working exclusively in Steady State mode, you are not required to change any of the values on the pages accessible through this tab. Model Page The Model page allows you to define how UA is defined in Dynamic mode. The value of UA is calculated as follows UAaynamie = F X UAsteadystate (10) where: UAsteadystate = UA value entered on the Parameters page of the Design tab F= Gee the flow scale factor (a) mase flovrate_\°8 . (12) N= (qqaanejanwe) — forair (13) pra ( mass flowrate y" for fluid Teference flowrate The Model page contains the UA Calculation group, which contains four fields: Field Des UA The steady state value of UA. This should be the same as the value entered on the Parameters tab.Reference air The reference flowrate for air. It is used to flow calculate the value of fl as shown in Equation (22) Reference fluid The reference flowrate for the fluid. It is used flow to calculate the value of 2 as shown in Equation (13) Minimum flow The minimum scale factor used. If the value scale factor calculated by Equation (11) is smaller than this value, this value is used. Specs Page The Specs page contains information regarding the calculation of pressure drop across the Air Cooler. You can specify how the pressure drop across the Air Cooler is calculated in the Dynamic Specifications group. Dynamic Specifications Description Overall Delta P A set pressure drop is assumed across the valve operation with this specification. The flow and the pressure of either the inlet or exit stream must be specified or calculated from other operations in the flowsheet. The flow through the valve is not dependent on the pressure drop across the Air Cooler. To use the overall delta P as a dynamic specification, select the corresponding check box. The Air Cooler operations, like other dynamic unit operations, should use the k-value specification ‘option as much as possible to simulate actual pressure flow relations in the plant. Overall k Value The k-value defines the relationship between the flow through the Air Cooler and the pressure of the surrounding streams. You can either specify the k-value or have it calculated from the stream conditions surrounding the Air Cooler. You can “size” the Cooler with a k-value by clicking the Calculate K button. Ensure that there is a non- zero pressure drop across the Air Cooler before the Calculate K button is clicked. To use the k- value as a dynamic specification, select the corresponding check box. Pressure Flow Reference Flow The reference flow value results in a more linear relationship between flow and pressure drop. This is used to increase model stability during startup and shutdown where the flows are low. If the pressure flow option is chosen the k value is calculated based on two criteria. If the flow of the system is larger than the k Reference Flow the k value remains unchanged. It is recommended that the k reference flow is taken as 40% of steady state design flow for better pressure flow stability at low flow range. If the flow of the system is smaller than the k Reference Flow, the k value is given by: boy k on ev Factor mayused — Mspeciprea ~ # LL ve where Factor is determined by HYSYS internally to take into consideration the flow and pressure drop relationship at low flow regions. ‘The Dynamic Parameters group contains information about the holdup of the Air Cooler, which is described in the table below. Dynamic Parameters Description Fluid Volume Specify the Air Cooler holdup volume. Mass Flow The mass flow of process stream through the Air Cooler is calculated. Exit Temperature __The exit temperature of the process stream. Holdup Page The Holdup page contains information regarding the properties, composition, and amount of the holdup. The Overall Holdup Details group displays the following information for each phase contained within the volume space of the unit operation + Accumulation: The rate of change of material in the holdup. + Moles: The amount of material in the holdup for each phase + Volume: The holdup volume of each phase, The Zone drop-down list enables you to select and view the holdup data for each zone in the operation. Click the Advanced button to access the Advanced Holdup view for the selected zone. Note: The Air Cooler operation only has one zone Stripchart Page The Stripchart page allows you to select and create default strip charts containing various variable associated to the operation. Malfunction Page The Dynamics tab | Malfunction page lets you easily model performance deterioration in tubes, performance deterioration in fans, and fan failure. To model malfunction scenarios: 1, Select the Dynamics tab | Malfunction page of the Air Cooler. 2. Specify information for any or all of the following malfunction scenarios: © UA Performance Deterioration © Fan Deterioration © Fan Failure 3. Select the Active check box for the defined scenarios. 4, Run the integrator. Defining a UA Performance Deterioration Scenario The UA Performance Deterioration scenario models performance deterioration in tubes. This scenario simulates the deterioration of the overall heat transfer coefficient U. To define an UA Performance Deterioration scenario:1, In the UA Performance Deterioration group, specify the following values: Parameter Description Delay Time Specify the time delay that elapses after you activate the scenario before the ‘malfunction starts ramping Ramp Time The solver linearly ramps up/down to a specified value over the specified timespan. If you specify 0 or leave this value as , the % change will be executed in a single timestep. Overall Decrease in duty that occurs when the scenario is activated. UA % Decrease 2. Select the Active check box. Defining a Fan Deterioration Scenario The Fan Deterioration scenario models deterioration of fans. To define a Fan Deterioration scenario: 1, In the Fan Deterioration group, specify the following values for each fan that you want to include in the model Parameter Description Delay Time Specify the time delay that elapses after you activate the scenario before the malfunction starts ramping Ramp Time The solver linearly ramps up/down to a specified value over the specified timespan. If you specify 0 or leave this value as , the % change will be executed in a single timestep. Airflow % — Specify, per fan, how much the air flow will decrease. Decrease 2. Select the Activate check boxes for the fans that you want to include in the model. Defining a Fan Failure Scenario The Fan Failure scenario models the shutdown of selected fans. For the selected fans, air flow stops completely. To define a Fan Failure scenario: 1. In the Fan Failure group, specify the following values for each fan that you want to include in the model: Parameter Description Delay Time Specify the time delay that elapses after you activate the scenario before the malfunction starts ramping Ramp Time The solver linearly ramps up/down to a specified value over the specified timespan. If you specify 0 or leave this value as , the % change will be executed in a single timestep. ate check boxes for the fans that you want to include in the model.