Journal of Applied Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

Modeling and Second Law Based Optimization of Plate Fin and Tube Heat Exchanger Using MOPSO

Ehsan Khorasani Nejad, Mohsen Hajabdollahi and Hassan Hajabdollahi

In the present study, a comprehensive thermal modeling and optimal design of plain Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger (FTHE) is performed. Hence, method is applied to estimate the heat exchanger pressure drop and effectiveness. The design parameters of this scientific study are selected as: longitudinal pitch, transversal pitch, fin pitch, number of tube pass, tube diameter, cold stream flow length, no-flow length and hot stream flow length. In addition, Multi Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO) is applied to obtain the minimum number of entropy generation units and total annual cost (sum of investment and operation costs) as two objective functions, simultaneously. The results of optimal designs are a set of multiple optimum solutions, called ‘Pareto optimal solutions’. It reveals that any geometrical changes which decrease the number of entropy generation units lead to an increase in the total annual cost and vice versa. Moreover, for prediction of the optimal design of the FTHE, an equation for number of entropy generation units versus the total annual cost is derived for the Pareto front. Furthermore, the sensitivity analysis of change in optimum number of entropy generation units and total annual cost with changes in design parameters of the fin tube heat exchanger is also performed in detail.