The Impact of Fouling on Heat Exchangers: Heat Transfer, Pressure Drop, and Fouling Mechanisms
Fouling in Heat Exchangers: Effects on Performance and Mechanisms Fouling is an accumulation of undesirable material (deposits) on heat exchanger surfaces. Undesirable material may be crystals, sediments, polymers, coking products, inorganic salts, biological growth, corrosion products, and so on. This process influences heat transfer and flow conditions in a heat exchanger. Fouling is a synergistic consequence of transient mass, momentum and heat transfer phenomena involved with exchanger fluids and surfaces, and depends significantly on heat exchanger operation conditions. However, most manifestations of these various phenomena lead to similar consequences. In general, fouling results in a reduction in thermal performance, an increase in pressure drop, may promote corrosion, and may result in eventual failures of some heat exchangers. Corrosion represents mechanical deterioration of construction materials of heat exchanger surfaces under the aggressive influence of flowing fl...