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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Most optimization problems in chemical engineering are focused towards network and flowsheet level problems ignoring the design details of individual components inside them. This may lead to either suboptimal performance of the design or in some cases it may even become infeasible. Heat exchangers are one of the most widely used equipment in the process plant to achieve either set temperature for streams or change phase. In flowsheet models, they are designed using log-mean temperature difference (LMTD) equation which is only accurate under strong assumptions. In this talk, I will first present a Differential Algebraic Equation (DAE) model which is based on first principles heat equation and is valid without strong assumptions. I will then discuss a filter-based trust region method which is used to incorporate detailed equipment design models inside the flowsheet optimization models. Finally, I will present some results from heat exchanger network (HEN) and natural gas liquefaction process case studies.
Host: Anatoly Zlotnik