A Genetic Algorithm Based Plant Layout Design Methodology Considering Piping and Safety

layout design is the key way to help enterprise improving production efficiency, operation safety and energy saving. At the level of facilities in a plant, the constraints of layout design have been gradually improved. However, the main constraints will change when the problem of design extends to the level of plants in a factory or an industrial park. Because the long distance between the plants cannot be neglected. Pipeline network and safety issues for the whole factory are deemed to be the more remarkable constraints. In this paper, the pipeline network is specified into two types: material pipeline and steam pipeline. The investments for both types are evaluated through temperature, pressure and the property of material individually. For the length of steam pipelines, the minimum length of steam pipelines is optimized by Kruskal algorithm. Additionally, the likelihood of safety accidents, such as explosion, is taken into account to make the plant layout design more practical. A genetic algorithm is used to solve the problem. The objective function is to minimize the total pipeline cost and the economic property damage which is caused by safety accidents simultaneously. This paper presents a mathematical model for the plant layout design and a case study reveals the effectiveness of proposed methodology.