OPTIMIZATION OF FLOW PATHS OF AIR-COOLED HEAT EXCHANGERS

Abstract

There is worldwide interest in improving the flow circuits used in air-cooled heat exchangers used in air conditioning systems. Most authors have employed variants of the genetic algorithm method to optimize flow circuits. This paper presents the results obtained with a new approach that treats the optimization of flow paths as the equivalent of the travelling salesman problem. The results show that the ant colony optimization method employed in the travelling salesman problem effectively finds optimal solutions. The objective function is modified to limit the pressure drop on the tube side. The modified objective function can be employed in other methods as well. The method has application in the optimization of flow paths of complex heat exchangers used in refrigeration and air conditioning systems.