Aspen Fired Heater

Maximize process throughput through more efficient design and operation

of your fired heaters

Aspen Fired Heater is the latest generation of thermal design software for the simulation and rating of
process fired heaters. Fired heaters are found on almost every process unit in a petroleum refinery
and are widely used in petrochemical and bulk chemical production. Correct design and operation of
heaters is vital for achieving overall plant operational objectives in terms of efficiency and
achievement of desired product slate.

The Challenge: Reduce Risk, Gain More Control of Fired Heaters

Ninety percent of the energy consumed in a typical refinery is associated with fuel burned in fired heaters. Heaters are vital to
the operation of distillation and conversion units. These devices are highly complex heat transfer units involving combustion,
radiation, and convective heat transfer, often interacting with several streams in a process. Changes in feedstock or crude
composition must be considered carefully in terms of the local process conditions within a heater. Without careful control,
heaters can suffer from excessive coking and even tube failure, with serious consequences to safety and plant availability.

The AspenTech Solution: Flexible Modeling to Adapt to Changing Conditions

The sophisticated modeling of Aspen Fired Heater allows designers to explore a wide range of heater configurations. For many
designers, Aspen Fired Heater brings modeling flexibility and ease-of-use with full integration of firebox and convection section
processes, combined with draft calculations. It offers the reliability of Aspen Exchanger Design and Rating models for process
heat transfer and pressure drop along with the well-stirred or
long-furnace models of firebox radiation. Aspen Fired Heater
simulations provide heater operators with insight into local
process conditions to facilitate optimal operations, maximizing
throughput and energy efficiency without impairing safety or
reliability. It also allows users to examine local heat flux and
tube metal temperatures in the firebox and convection
section, thereby avoiding unstable flow regimes in two-phase
operations and bringing a better balance of throughput, firing
rate, and where applicable, steam injection to the process.

Aspen Fired Heater reports range from thermal summary

screens to comprehensive incremental output.
Aspen Fired Heater
Aspen Fired Heater: Key Technical Features
Combined modeling of firebox and
convection section
Up to 10 process streams in a single heater
Handles cylindrical and cabin fireboxes
Firebox well-stirred and long-furnace
radiation models
Firebox wall tubes (vertical horizontal and
helical coil)
Central tubes and cell-type fireboxes
Up to 9 process convection section tube
banks and processes
Tubes can be plain or finned
Convection section tubes with high round fins,
serrated fins, circular fins, and rectangular fins
Flexible, easy-to-use user interface
Full process thermal and hydraulic calculations
using Exchanger Design and Rating methods
Combustion calculations for up to 4 fuels
in the firebox
Fuels can be selected from a standard set of 5
common fuels or specified by gaseous
composition or for liquid fuels by ultimate
analysis
Outputs include the heater overall
thermal performance in addition to many
detailed reports
Evaluation of local process conditions,
temperatures, and pressures
Flagging of conditions that exceed
expected limits
Flagging of unstable flow regimes
Import of process and property data from
Aspen HYSYS
Aspen HYSYS Thermodynamics COM
Interface and Aspen B-JAC property databanks
Wide Range of Applications
Fired heater design involves balancing the thermal and hydraulic
requirements for the main process stream and the subsidiary
streams in the unit, while avoiding excessive capital cost. The
complexity of the interactions and the wide range of possible
configurations necessitate the use of a powerful tool like
Aspen Fired Heater. Its detailed modeling capabilities provide
an accurate assessment of local metal temperatures, allowing
users to select the most appropriate tube materials.
In modern plant operation, profitability is highly dependent on
how well heaters are running. If feedstocks change or pre-heat
trains foul up, the appropriate firing rate is not easy to determine.
Similarly, if fuel changes are required, an accurate model is most
important. Aspen Fired Heater helps operators achieve maximum
efficiency while avoiding operating regimes that may jeopardize
the run-time of the unit (due to excess coking), or that may
even impair the integrity of heater pressure parts. By modeling
a heater in the program, operators gain insight into local
conditions, which goes far beyond that revealed by
instrumentation.
Three major physical property databases are included in Aspen
Fired HeaterAspen HYSYS Thermodynamics COM Interface,
the leading package in oil & gas processing, Aspen B-JAC
standard properties package, which handles many common
industrial fluids, and Aspen Properties. These databases
provide access to more than 1,100 components and include a
range of industry-standard VLE methods and mixing rules.
Aspen Fired Heater has a utility to import process data and
stream properties from Aspen HYSYS. This allows users to
quickly set up studies of heater performance from the Aspen
HYSYS process flowsheet.
An extensive selection of graphics makes Aspen Fired Heater
easier to use.
 Aspen Fired Heater

Thermal Output
Aspen Fired Heater uses the power and flexibility of the Microsoft Windows environment to allow you to explore unit geometry
and performance detail. In addition, Aspen Fired Heater is designed to support drag & drop interfacing with Microsoft Excel, as
well as high-level communication with other software.

Thermal output includes:

Overall heater thermal performance summary, including details of the heat load and the thermal efficiency of the unit
Extensive warning and error reporting, alerting you to potential operational problems
Overviews of thermal performance of each part of the heater, firebox, and tube bank
Thermal overview of each stream in the heater
Combustion information and fuel details, including calculated flue gas composition for individual fuels and fuel mixtures
Comprehensive incremental output, including local temperatures, pressures, and heat flux
Radiation information including zonal analysis

A number of program defaults helps minimize

the required user input.

Graphing is available for enhancing your visual interpretation of

output information.
 Aspen Exchanger Design and Rating Worldwide Headquarters
Aspen Fired Heater is a part of the Aspen Exchanger Design and Rating family of products. Aspen Exchanger Aspen Technology, Inc.
Design and Rating products offer state-of-the-art heat exchanger simulation and design based on over 30 200 Wheeler Road
years of industry-leading research. Our aim is to enhance the value of heat transfer solutions by providing Burlington, MA 01803
the most integrated product offering across the widest range of technologies. This enables our customers phone: +1-781-221-6400
to use the most advanced physically-based modeling, from unit design and overall process design, through fax: +1-781-221-6410
to optimization and operational monitoring. info@aspentech.com

EMEA Headquarters
aspenONE Process Engineering
AspenTech Ltd.
Aspen Exchanger Design and Rating family of products is a key component of aspenONE Process Engineering C1, Reading Intl Business Park
for chemical, refining, and E&P companies. aspenONE Process Engineering is an integrated lifecycle solution Basingstoke Road
from conceptual design through to plant startup and operations supportenabling our customers to build Reading UK
and operate safer, competitive and more reliable process plants. Companies are able to reduce capital RG2 6DT
and operating costs, increase engineering efficiency and quality, and accelerate time-to-marketwith
phone: +44-(0)-1189-226400
payback in months instead of years. fax: +44-(0)-1189-226401
ATE_info@aspentech.com

About AspenTech
APAC Headquarters
AspenTech is a leading provider of award-winning process optimization software and services. AspenTechs
integrated aspenONE solutions enable manufacturers to reduce costs, increase capacity, and optimize AspenTech - Shanghai
3rd Floor, North Wing
operational performance end-to-end throughout the engineering, plant operations, and supply chain
Zhe Da Wang Xin Building
management processes.
2966 Jin Ke Road
For more information, visit www.aspentech.com. Zhangjiang High-Tech Zone
Pudong, Shanghai
201203, China
phone: +86-21-5137-5000
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