Optimal design for chemical heat exchange networks based on two - level combinatorial optimization using improved genetic algorithms

Heat exchanger networks (HEN) are most popular utilities to exchange the energy in chemical industrial processes. The design of HEN is important to the minimum cost and maximum profit of the enterprises. This paper proposes a two-level optimization strategy based on improved GA and mathematical programming to deal with the optimal design of HEN. The validity of this strategy is demonstrated by the results obtained in Matlab environment.