Particulate fouling and composite fouling assessment in corrugated plate heat exchangers

Experimental and theoretical investigations of water-side fouling have been performed inside four corrugated plate heat exchangers. They have different geometric parameters, such as plate height, plate spacing, and plate angle. Fouling experiments including particulate fouling tests and composite particulate and precipitation fouling tests have been performed. The tests are primarily focused on the effects of concentration and average velocity. Scanning electron microscope (SEM) was used to investigate the microscopic structures of composite fouling. Heat transfer coefficients and friction factors have been obtained in clean tests. The plate heat exchanger with the largest de and height to pitch ratio shows the best anti-fouling performance. The Von-Karman analogy was used to obtain mass transfer coefficient to develop appropriate semi-theoretical fouling correlations; The wall shear stress is obtained from the pressure drop. The model predictions agree well with experimental data.