The consideration of dynamics and control in the design of heat exchanger networks

The heat exchanger network method is a way of abstracting the enthalpy and heat flows from the blueprints of a planned or existing processing plant. It enables a systematic design of a plant-wide heat recovery system which is optimal with regard to energy costs, capital costs and operational requirements. A heat exchanger network is a representation of all heat transfer relations between hot process streams and cold process streams within a plant. During the past ten years, the optimal design of heat exchanger networks (i.e. the optimal arrangement of heat transfer relations within a plant) has developed into a field of research of its own. Both, static methods ('interaction analysis') and dynamic methods ('process reaction curve analysis') from control theory have been used to explore the new field of heat exchanger network dynamics. As a major tool, an interactive, portable computer program for network simulation and controllability assessment has been developed (it is available as a design tool within the frame of the International Energy Agency). Based on the well-understood global parameters: effectiveness and NTU, which follow from the network design, some straightforward methods covering the following topics are presented: - 'paths' for control and disturbance signal transfer across the network, - locations of control bypasses around heat exchangers, and their capacity of emitting control signals or absorbing disturbances, - influence of the equipment besides the heat exchangers (which can be regarded as 'surrounding' the network, thus forming an 'associated' network). It has been found that networks which are designed according to the 'pinch-based' method have a potential for good controllability. It is shown how, using the freedoms given in the 'pinch-based' design and the above-mentioned methods, that potential is put into effect. (author)