CHAPTER 1

Introduction

The design of thermal systems—be these power producing systems, like a thermal
power plant, or power absorbing systems, like a central air-conditioning plant—has
traditionally been carried out using thumb rules based largely on experience. Over the
years, consortiums of experienced engineers have been formed by reputed publishers,
as well as well-established professional societies like ASME and ASHRAE, to produce
authoritative handbooks to help design safe and functional systems. These handbooks
give valuable information on the likely range of values of important design parameters,
but the final choice of the values of various design parameters for a typical application
still rests with the design engineer. Any engineer would naturally wish that his choice of
design parameters should result in an “optimum design”—that which best satisfies the
requirement of his clients—be it minimization of the cost, weight, or floor area, or the
maximization of the efficiency, coefficient of performance, etc. This demands that a large
number of alternative designs be obtained and evaluated with respect to the optimization
criterion. Traditionally even to arrive at a workable design of a thermal system, with its
numerous interconnected components, has been such a laborious task that rarely any
attempt was made to arrive at the “optimum design.” Many companies did modify their
equipment designs progressively, on the basis of the performance of earlier models, and
thus slowly the designs were improved over many generations of “models.” However,
over the last three decades, the possibility of doing high speed computation through
desktop computers has made computer-aided design commercially viable. The designers
can thus aim at obtaining optimum designs of thermal systems. Increasing competition
and rapidly increasing costs of energy have, in fact, made this task imperative.
To appreciate the difference between a “feasible design” and the “optimal design”
let us consider a simple, commonly encountered problem: design of a heat exchanger,
say, for recovering waste heat from the flue gases leaving a diesel generator (DG) set to
produce steam for use in a laboratory. The first step in the design process would be to
specify the amount, the temperature, and pressure of the steam required in the laboratory.
Let us assume, for the sake of illustration, that the laboratory requires 5 kg/min of dry
saturated steam at a pressure of 2 bar. Knowing the minimum temperature of water in
winter, say 10◦ C, we can calculate the amount of heat transfer that should occur in the
heat exchanger. The mass flow rate and the temperature of the hot gases exiting from

Thermal System Design and Simulation © 2017 Elsevier Ltd.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-809449-5.00001-2 All rights reserved. 1
2 Thermal System Design and Simulation

ST

SL

Fig. 1.1 Fin tube heat exchanger for recovering heat from DG set exhaust.

the DG set at the design conditions would be known from its performance data. Now,
using this data we need to design a suitable heat exchanger for this application.
The first step in design would be to choose the type of heat exchanger, from among
various possibilities [1]. This is usually done by the design engineer on the basis of
his experience, keeping in view various systemic constraints, like the type of fluids,
their fouling potential and cleanability, the permissible pressure drops, consequences of
leakage, etc. In this case, say, we choose tube fin heat exchanger to minimize the pressure
drop on the gas side. Next we have to choose the tube diameter and the fin height. This
is usually done on the basis of prevalent “good industrial practices.” Suppose we choose
tubes of base diameter 16 mm, ID of 14 mm, with integral fins on the outside of
2 mm height spaced on the tube with a pitch of 4 mm. We then have to decide on the
configuration of the tube bank, the longitudinal and lateral pitches, ST and SL , and the
size of the duct through which the hot gases would flow, as shown in Fig. 1.1.
These are again chosen based on the past experience with this type of heat recovery
units. Thus the two pitches ST and SL , could be chosen, typically as 32 and 30 mm,
respectively. The sizing of the duct will have to be done to ensure that the gas side
velocity is within acceptable limits1 and all the tubes can be accommodated within a
reasonable length. We could choose a gas velocity over the tube bundle, say of 10 m/s,
and design the exhaust gas duct accordingly. We then choose a “reasonable” value of
velocity of water in the tubes, say 1.5 m/s (usually water velocity is limited to 3 m/s to
minimize erosion), and decide on the number of the tubes needed in a single pass of the
heat exchanger to achieve the required mass flow rate of water.
Having fixed the basic configurations and the crucial design variables, the heat
transfer calculations can be done. We estimate the heat transfer coefficient of the gas

1 If it is too low, the gas side heat transfer coefficient would be very small, and if it is too high, the gas side
pressure drop would be high and that would influence the performance of the IC engine of the DG set
through increase in its exhaust pressure.
 Introduction 3

side and the water side by using appropriate correlations from the literature; find the
overall heat transfer coefficient and the effective mean temperature difference between
the two streams, and then estimate the heat transfer area needed. The length of the
heat exchanger tubes can then be calculated. We thus have a feasible design of the heat
exchanger which will deliver the required amount of steam.
It is obvious from the above description of the design process that we could have
obtained many other “feasible” designs by changing the values of the variables like tube
diameter, fin pitch, fin height, velocity of water, velocity of hot gases, longitudinal and
lateral pitches of the tube bundle, etc., assumed above on the basis of “good industrial
practices.” For each change in the value of a design variable, a different design of the heat
exchanger would be obtained. We could then choose between them based on a suitable
optimization criterion. The optimization criterion could, for example, be minimization
of the initial cost, or of the pressure drop on the gas side (since that would influence the
performance of the IC engine of the DG set) or a suitable combination of the two. Thus
we could, for example, apportion a cost to the steam produced and to the reduction in
DG set output caused by gas side pressure drop in the heat exchanger, and combine
these suitably with the initial cost of the heat exchanger to evolve a composite function
which gives the net increase in profit during the entire projected life of the DG set,
due to incorporation of the heat recovery system. The heat exchanger design which
maximizes this profit could be chosen as the “optimum design.” Another approach
could be to constrain the pressure drop on the gas side to be less than a specified value
and then minimize the initial cost of the heat exchanger; yet another approach being to
maximize the second law efficiency of the heat exchanger.
Now, since the number of possible feasible designs is extremely large, we need to
devise suitable strategy to narrow down the search domain in consonance with the
chosen objective to arrive at the “optimum design” with minimum computational
effort. This necessitates use of mathematical/numerical optimization techniques to
generate alternative designs which are likely to be “better” than the initial design.
Further, to assess whether the designs so “generated” are feasible, we need a procedure
to determine the performance of the system based on such a design. This requires
computer-based system simulation procedures. System simulation, in turn, needs com-
prehensive procedures to predict the performance of each component of the system and
a methodology to integrate these procedures in tune with their actual interconnection
in the system. Thus a comprehensive computer program to obtain optimal design of a
thermal system would essentially be an optimization algorithm to maximize/minimize
the objective function subject to the constraints that it provides the required thermal
performance2 without compromising on other nonthermal performance measures like

2 Which is predicted with the help of the system simulation program.

4 Thermal System Design and Simulation

long life, safety, permissible wear and tear, noise, etc.3 More often than not, the
optimization algorithm is a search procedure to generate progressively “better” designs,
which need to be checked for feasibility by using the system simulation procedure.
The system simulation procedures are also quite useful in their own right. They
enable us to assess the influence of various operating parameters on the performance
of the system or its components without actually conducting laboratory tests which
are often very expensive and time consuming. We can thus do a sensitivity analysis to
identify the relative influence of various components and/or the operating conditions
on the overall system performance. Most thermal systems rarely operate on the design
conditions, and the system simulation procedures can help us predict their “off-design”
performance. This is often of great help in designing suitable control strategies to ensure
safe and “optimal” operation even under off-design operating conditions.

1.1 OUTLINE OF THE BOOK

As indicated by the title of the book, its focus is on simulation and design of thermal
systems. By the term “system” we imply a collection of components with interrelated
performance, and by “simulation” we mean predicting the performance of a system for
a given set of input conditions. Thermal systems generally involve transfer of heat and
work, often through fluids moving through various components. Thus analysis of the
performance of thermal systems demands a through knowledge of the fundamentals of
thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, and fluid mechanics. We shall review these very
briefly in Chapter 3.
Most of the equipments used in a thermal system involve heat and mass transfer.
For such heat/mass exchangers it is often possible to develop detailed models of
process simulation. However, for some important equipment like multistage turbines
and compressors, detailed thermofluid modeling is extremely complicated. Often, while
simulating thermal systems using such turbomachines, and other equipments where
process models would be too cumbersome to incorporate in the system simulation
program, the performance curves of such equipments are taken from the manufacturer’s
catalogs, and converted into equations for ease of use in the computer programs. We
also need to fit suitable equations into the thermodynamic property data. Equation
fitting is usually done using the “least squares technique.” The art and science (or
rather mathematics!) of fitting equations into data are discussed in Chapter 2, along
with other mathematical techniques needed in thermal system simulation. These include
commonly used methods for solution of simultaneous algebraic equations (both linear
and nonlinear) and differential equations, basic concepts of Laplace transformation, etc.
A brief discussion on engineering economics is also included in this chapter, focusing

3 These nonthermal considerations are often incorporated through constraints on variables, see also
Chapter 11.
 Introduction 5

mainly on the basic principles of converting complex optimization objectives4 into

financial terms.
The detailed process models of typical equipment used in thermal systems like
heat and mass exchangers, various types of compressors, gasifier, etc., are presented in
Chapter 4. Most thermal systems use atmosphere as a heat source or a sink. Since the
environmental conditions (like temperature, humidity content, solar radiation intensity,
etc.) are inherently uncertain, and can only be predicted with certain probabilities,
a rigorous study of the performance of thermal systems should incorporate this
probabilistic description. Such an approach is termed as stochastic simulation, and shall
be only briefly discussed in the last chapter of the book. In Chapter 4 the focus is
on deterministic simulation, where it is assumed that the input variables are precisely
specified. Further, though the focus of the book is primarily on thermal systems like
power producing systems (IC engines, steam power plants, etc.) and cold producing
systems (like refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment), in this chapter we have also
illustrated the application of basic laws of thermodynamics and heat-mass transfer to
develop process models for other applications involving transfer of heat and mass like
cooling of electronic equipment, manufacturing processes, heat treatment, dehydration
of foods, etc.
System simulation involves integration of the models/equations for predicting the
performance of various components into a comprehensive procedure which ensures
that various conservation equations (like those for mass, momentum, and energy
conservation) are satisfied. From a mathematical perspective system simulation involves
solution of simultaneous “equations,” mostly nonlinear, representing the performance
of its components. Many a times these “equations” are actually detailed process
models of the equipment wherein various variables are intricately related, usually
through differential equations. To evolve a suitable system simulation strategy, the
component simulation models are represented in the form of information flow diagrams
which indicate the minimum input variables necessary to obtain the desired output
information. By suitably choosing the input and output variables, and combining
these information flow diagrams judiciously, it is possible to evolve strategies which
significantly reduce the computational effort for system simulation. The concept of
information flow diagram and its utility in system simulation are discussed in Chapter 5.
A few comprehensive case studies of some common thermal systems, illustrating the use
of all these concepts are presented in Chapter 6.
The main focus of the book is on optimum design of thermal systems. As discussed
briefly above, the objectives of optimum design, the constraints and the design variables,
can all vary depending upon the specific requirements of the situation and the
designer’s preferences. Thus, for example, the objective function could be economic, like

4 Like minimization of the total cost of a plant taking into account both the initial capital cost and the
running cost spread over its entire life time.
6 Thermal System Design and Simulation

minimizing the initial investment, or life cycle cost; or thermodynamic, like maximizing
some index of system performance (like the thermal efficiency or the coefficient of
performance, COP), or minimizing the exergy loss. While ideally all the components
of a system should be designed together, a situation on the ground may not permit
change in the design of some of the components, and so the design variables would have
to be appropriately constrained. The different approaches of formulating the optimal
design problems and identifying the design variables and the constraints are discussed in
Chapter 7.
The techniques of optimization can be broadly divided into two categories, namely
analytical techniques and numerical (or search) techniques. There exists a whole range
of analytical and numerical techniques for optimization of various types of functions.
A brief discussion of a few of these, which are suitable for nonlinear objective functions
commonly encountered while optimizing thermal systems, is presented in Chapter 8. In
Chapter 9 firstly a few simple examples of thermodynamic optimization and optimum
design of some typical equipment used in thermal systems are presented. These are
followed by three comprehensive case studies of the optimum design of the waste heat
recovery boiler of a combined cycle power plant, the optimum design of a refrigeration
system, and a liquid desiccant-based air-conditioning system.
Design of thermal systems is conventionally done on the basis of their desired steady-
state performance. However, in actual operation these systems rarely operate on steady
state since the “load” on the system and the environmental conditions are changing
continuously. The behavior of a system under transient conditions is therefore of great
importance, especially to ensure that performance is not impaired greatly and the system
safety is not threatened. A simplified approach at analyzing the dynamic performance of
typical thermal systems, and the control systems for these is presented in Chapter 10.
Besides the thermal design, there are many other considerations like material
selection, mechanical strength, erosion, noise, etc., which play a crucial role in deciding
the final design of most equipment. These are often incorporated as constraints in the
optimization of the thermal design and therefore a thermal engineer should have a
working knowledge about these factors. A brief discussion on these issues is presented
in Chapter 11. With increasing awareness about need to conserve energy, stochastic
considerations are also becoming important. Thus while usually a thermal power plant
design is optimized for a fixed power output, stochastic approach would require taking
into account a probabilistic description of the power demand. A brief presentation on
these, as also on some other emerging trends in thermal system design, like use of
proprietary softwares, is also included in this last chapter of the book.

REFERENCE
[1] R.K. Shah, D.P. Sekulic, Fundamentals of Heat Exchanger Design, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken,
NJ, 2003.