Article,
The complex topology of chemical plants
PHYSICA A-STATISTICAL MECHANICS AND ITS APPLICATIONS, 360 (2): 637-643 (2006)
DOI: 10.1016/j.physa.2005.06.092
Abstract
We show that flowsheets of oil refineries can be associated to complex
network topologies that are scale-free, display small-world effect and
possess hierarchical organization. The emergence of these properties
from such man-made networks is explained as a consequence of the
currently used principles for process design, which include heuristics
as well as algorithmic techniques. We expect these results to be valid
for chemical plants of different types and capacities. (c) 2005 Elsevier
B.V. All rights reserved.
