• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.40 no.9
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• pp.557-567
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• 2016

In this study, the optimal design of heat exchangers, including the evaporator and condenser of a solar-heating ocean thermal energy conversion (SH-OTEC), is investigated. The power output of the SH-OTEC is assumed to be 100 kW, and the SH-OTEC uses the working fluid of R134a and high-performance commercial tubes. The surface heat transfer area and the pressure drop were strongly dependent on the number of tubes, as well as the number of tube passes. To solve the reciprocal tendency between the heat transfer area and pressure drop with respect to the number of tubes, as well as the number of tube passes, a genetic algorithm (GA) with two objective functions of the heat transfer area (the capital cost) and operating cost (pressure drop) was used. Optimal results delineated the feasible regions of heat transfer area and operating cost with respect to the pertinent number of tubes and tube passes. Pareto fronts of the evaporator and condenser obtained from multi-objective GA provides designers or investors with a wide range of optimal solutions so that they can select projects suitable for their financial resources. In addition, the surface heat transfer area of the condenser took up a much higher percentage of the total heat transfer area of the SH-OTEC than that of the evaporator.