New Design and Retrofit

There are two situations that can be encountered in process design. The first is in the design of new plant or grassroot design. In the second, the design is carried out to modify 

When carrying out a retrofit, the connections between the items of equipment can be reconfigured, perhaps adding new equipment where necessary. Alternatively, if the existing equipment differs significantly from what is required in the retrofit, then in addition to reconfiguring the connections between the equipment, the equipment itself can be modified. Generally, the fewer the modifications to both the connections and the equipment, the better. 

In broad terms, there are two approaches to chemical process design and integration  

This approach to creation of the design involves making a series of best local decisions. This might be based on the use of heuristics or rules of thumb developed from experience4 on a more systematic approach. Equipment is added only if it can be justified economically on the basis of the information available, albeit an incomplete picture. This keeps the structure irreducible, and features that are technically or economically redundant are not included. 

The main advantage of this approach is that the design team can keep control of the basic decisions and interact as the design develops. By staying in control of the basic decisions, the intangibles of the design can be included in the decision making. 

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Buckling-restrained braces are one of the more impactful developments in earthquake engineering. They are considered today a standard option for both new designs and retrofits of existing buildings in significant seismic hazards. However, as with any innovation, additional improvements are constantly explored to further improve... 

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