Conference Dates
July 1-6, 2007
First Page
352
Abstract
The influence of flow direction with respect to gravity on particulate fouling of heat exchangers is investigated experimentally to determine the optimal flow direction to minimize fouling. Four orientations of flow have been investigated, horizontal flow, upward flow, downward flow and a flow under an angle of 45°. It is observed that fouling starts at the point of stagnation irrespective of the flow direction, and also at the top of the heat exchanger tubes. Particulate fouling grows from these two points till they meet and the fouling layer covers the whole surface of the heat exchanger tube. Fouling at the upper half of the tubes is much faster than the lower half of the tubes, and the fouling rate is faster at the bottom tubes of the heat exchanger section than at the upper tubes. The best orientation for lingering particulate fouling is the downward flow, where the flow stagnation point coincides with the top point of the heat exchanger tubes and the growth of the fouling layer only starts from one point.
Recommended Citation
M.S. Abd-Elhady, C.C.M. Rindt, and A.A. van Steenhoven, "OPTIMIZATION OF FLOW DIRECTION TO MINIMIZE PARTICULATE FOULING OF HEAT EXCHANGERS" in "Heat Exchanger Fouling and Cleaning VII", Hans Müller-Steinhagen, Institute of Technical Thermodynamics, German Aerospace Centre (DLR) and Institute for Thermodynamics and Thermal Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Germany; M. Reza Malayeri, University of Stuttgart, Germany; A. Paul Watkinson, The University of British Columbia, Canada Eds, ECI Symposium Series, (2007). https://dc.engconfintl.org/heatexchanger2007/46