Particulate Fouling Effect on Heat Exchanger Performance

The previous work proves that there is no reliable correlation to predict particulate fouling effect on heat exchangers performance. The main objective of this work is to develop a semi-empirical model for heat exchanger fouling.. The available experimental data are analyzed and then used to establish the proposed model. This model accounts for the effects of flow conditions on fouling. Resistance to predict the design, operation and performance parameters of plate type heat exchangers. It is found that the exchanger effectiveness decrease by to due to fouling of the present conditions. Also, the predicted pressure drop with fouling is higher than that of the clean fluids by to for the same conditions. Therefore, extra power and initial operating costs are needed. The present model can be used to document the design parameters of plate type, double pipe, and similar heat exchangers.