Heat exchanger network synthesis with considering pressure drop by coupling Genetic Algorithm with Linear Programming method

This research is trying to develop a new procedure for synthesis of Heat Exchanger Networks (HENs) including pressure drop using genetic algorithm (GA) coupled with linear programming (LP) method. The GA is used to produce structural configurations whereas continuous variables are handled using a converted LP formulation for Maximum Energy Recovery (MER). To prevent complexity of the model, the pressure drops of streams are calculated from the results of LP formulation and are compared with allowable pressure drops. Results show that this method may find better optimal solutions with decrease in HENs annual cost.