Determination of·fouling factors for shell-and-tube type heat exchangers exposed to los azufres geothermal fluids

According to the latest estimates, there are about 1500 geothermal sites in Mexico, ninety percent of which can probably produce low enthalpy fluids only. Hot water discarded from geothermal flash plants adds to this stock which represents a considerable source of thermal energy. Its utilization for direct industrial applications or electricity generation through binary cycles requires heat exchangers.The IIE, with the financial support and technical cooperation of CFE, has for some time been experimenting with heaters of different types subject to geothermal brines. This paper describes the work done to date and the preliminary results obtained.     

Performance analysis of finned tube and unbaffled shell-and-tube heat exchangers

This work considers an optimum design problem for the different constraints involved in the designing of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger consisting of longitudinally finned tubes. A Matlab simulation has been employed using the Kern's method of design of extended surface heat exchanger to determine the behavior on varying the values of the constraints and studying the overall behavior of the heat exchanger with their variation for both cases of triangular and square pitch arrangements, along with the values of pressure drop. It was found out that an optimum fin height existed for particular values of shell and tube diameters when the heat transfer rate was the maximum. Moreover it was found out that the optimum fin height increased linearly with the increase in tube outer diameter. Further studies were also performed with the variation of other important heat exchanger design features and their effects were studied on the behavior of overall performance of the shell-and-tube heat exchanger. The results were thereby summarized which would proclaim to the best performance of the heat exchanger and therefore capable of giving a good idea to the designer about the dimensional characteristics to be used for designing of a particular shell and tube heat exchanger.     

Fluid temperature and velocity effect on fouling

A wide variety of industrial processes involve the transfer of heat energy between fluids in process equipment. As a result of this energy exchange unwanted deposits accumulate on the process surfaces causing a resistance to energy transfer. These deposits reduce the heat recovery and can restrict fluid flow in the exchanger by narrowing the flow area. Prevention and control of fouling is costly and time consuming. In many situations, fouling can be reduced but not necessarily eliminated. Fouling is a major unresolved problem in heat transfer.In general, the heat exchangers evaluated in this study were exposed to untreated lake water for typical conditions. After the prescribed time period the exchangers were taken off line and evaluated. Conclusions and observations regarding fouling of brazed heat exchangers, exposed to once-through lake water, are presented here. Transient observations and photographs of the exchanger surfaces are given. Results are presented that compare these heat exchangers to test plates, also exposed to lake water. The progressive change of surface appearance with increasing immersion times is presented.     

连续螺旋折流板换热器动态特性研究

建立了可进行壳管式换热器动态特性试验研究系统,通过试验研究的方法对水-油为换热工质的连续螺旋折流板换热器动态特性进行了试验研究,进口流量扰动为等百分比流量特性,研究了四种流量扰动方式下水和油出口温度的动态响应。同时研究了在一定R e下,不同的流体扰动量对换热器进出口温升的影响,得到了换热器进出口温升与流体扰动量之间的关联式。实验表明,较于气体而言,液-液换热系统温度的动态响应时间比较长,研究发现在正负的流量扰动下,螺旋折流板换热器进出口温度变化呈现线性变化,进出口温升在正负流量扰动下其变化曲线具有对称特征。     

连续拼接型螺旋折流板换热器壳程流场与温度场数值研究

针对单弓形折流板换热器壳程压降大、连续型螺旋折流板换热器安装制造成本高的缺点,提出一种连续拼接型螺旋折流板换热器。基于流体力学基本原理与周期性充分发展模型理论,对连续拼接型螺旋折流板换热器壳程流场与温度场进行数值模拟,研究表明：雷诺数在2000~10000范围内,当螺旋角为70°时换热器的综合换热性能最好,且是同尺寸单弓形折流板换热器的15~21倍;利用多元线性回归方法推导出了连续拼接型螺旋折流板换热器壳程对流换热系数与压降的准则数关系式。     

Prediction of heat transfer rates for shell-and-tube heat exchangers by artificial neural networks approach

This work used artificial neural network(ANN)to predict the heat transfer rates of shell-and-tube heatexchangers with segmental baffles or continuous helical baffles,based on limited experimental data.The BackPropagation (BP) algorithm was used in training the networks.Different network configurations were alsostudied.The deviation between the predicted results and experimental data was less than 2%.Comparison withcorrelation for prediction shows ANN superiority.It is recommended that ANN can be easily used to predict theperformances of thermal systems in engineering applications,especially to model heat exchangers for heattransfer analysis.     

Melting and solidification performance in two horizontal shell-and-tube heat exchangers with different structures

Recently, a critical problem of latent heat thermal energy storage remains the low thermal conductivity of phase change materials (PCMs), which can lead to low heat transfer rate. Structural optimization design is an effective solution for this problem. In this work, two horizontal shell-and-tube heat exchangers (HEs) with one inner tube (n = 1) and four inner tubes (n = 4) are designed keeping the same amount of PCM and water flow rate, and their melting and solidification thermal performance and heat transfer characteristics are compared. The results show that in comparison with one-inner-tube HE, the temperature of detected points are affected by both upper and lower inner tubes for four-inner-tube HE, thus the differences in phase change process appear. In addition, the phase change time reduction rates are 34.1%, 33.39%, 28.82% at T_in (inlet water temperature) = 75°C, 80°C, 85°C during charging process, and 17.2%, 27.69%, 36.67% at T_in = 10°C, 15°C, 20°C during discharging process, respectively. In comparison with the one-inner-tube HE, the theoretical efficiency of four-inner-tube HE is increased from 75.88% to 90.34%. Although more friction loss should be paid by four-inner-tube HE, a lower energy consumption and a higher heat-energy ratio are achieved. Based on the results of this study, the amount of cumulative heat per energy consumption is 1.52 × 10⁸ and 2.88 × 10⁸ for one-inner-tube and four-inner-tube HE, respectively.     

管壳式换热器壳侧强化传热与管束支撑方式的研究进展

从管壳式换热器壳侧管束支撑方式和强化传热的角度,综述了从弓形折流板换热器、折流杆式换热器到螺旋折流板式换热器的研究进展,特别介绍了一种适合正三角形布管的三分螺旋折流板换热器的新型结构,并指出非连续折流板螺旋换热器中相邻折流板形成的三角区的泄漏是方向指向上游的有益流动,而目前常用的螺旋折流板轴向搭接方案则开启了一条指向下游的旁通捷径,将影响绕行主流正常流动和传热。     

Planning the optimum cleaning schedule based on simulation of heat exchangers under fouling

An investigation of variations in outlet temperatures of heat exchangers under fouling was carried out. The simulation of heat exchangers was performed by employing a linear fouling deposit function. The formation of deposits reduces heat exchangers effectiveness. There is inherently a linear nature between outlet and inlet temperatures of heat exchangers. The outlet temperatures can also be affected by up‐stream exchangers serving the same streams, and the up‐stream influence can be transferred in the heat system. The mathematical model of the cleaning cycle was outlined, based on the objective function of minimizing cost in unit operation time. According to the results, some heat exchangers can be given cleaning priority when the system is shut down, in order to maximize economic benefit. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/htj ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20384     

Experimental study of thermo-hydraulic and fouling performance of enhanced heat exchangers

The present study investigated the effect of two tube inserts (wire coil and wire mesh) on the heat transfer enhancement, pressure drop and mineral salts fouling mitigation in tube of a heat exchanger. A 3/4-in. tube that is heated by band heaters, is used which simulated a tube of heat exchanger. Working fluid is water with certain quality. The heat transfer rate averagely increased by 22–28% for wire coil (p/d = 0.125, e/d = 0.00375) and 163–174% for wire mesh (medium density) over a plain tube value, depending on type of tube insert, density of wire torsion and flow velocity. However, the pressure drop also increased substantially by 46% for wire coil and 500% for wire mesh. Wire coil insert with vibration mitigate mineral salts fouling (scaling) about 34%, and wire mesh have no effect on scaling, however it sometimes increased deposit rate.     

Investigation of local heat transfer coefficients in plate heat exchangers with temperature oscillation IR thermography and CFD

A method for the measurement of local convective heat transfer coefficients from the outside of a heat-transferring wall has been developed. This method is contact-free and fluid independent, employing radiant heating by laser or halogen spotlights and an IR camera for surface temperature measurements; it allows for the rapid evaluation of the heat transfer coefficient distribution of sizable heat exchanger areas. The technique relies first on experimental data of the phase lag of the outer surface temperature response to periodic heating, and second on a simplified numerical model of the heat exchanger wall to compute the local heat transfer coefficients from the processed data. The IR temperature data processing includes an algorithm for temperature drift compensation, phase synchronization between the periodic heat flux and the measured temperatures, and Single Frequency Discrete Fourier Transformations. The ill-posed inverse heat conduction problem of deriving a surface map of heat transfer coefficients from the phase-lag data is solved with a complex number finite-difference method applied to the heat exchanger wall. The relation between the local and the mean heat transfer coefficients is illuminated, calculation procedures based on the thermal boundary conditions are given. The results from measurements on a plate heat exchanger are presented, along with measurements conducted on pipe flow for validation. The results show high-resolution surface maps of the heat transfer coefficients for a chevron-type plate for three turbulent Reynolds numbers, including a promising approach of visualizing the flow field of the entire plate. The area-integrated values agree well with literature data. CFD calculations with an SST and an EASM–RSM were carried out on a section of a PHE channel. A comparison with the measured data indicates the shortcomings of even advanced turbulence models for the prediction of heat transfer coefficients but confirms the advantages of EASM–RSM in complex flows.     

Use of extended Kalman filtering in detecting fouling in heat exchangers

This paper is concerned with how non-linear physical state space models can be applied to on-line detection of fouling in heat exchangers. The model parameters are estimated by using an extended Kalman filter and measurements of inlet and outlet temperatures and mass flow rates. In contrast to most conventional methods, fouling can be detected when the heat exchanger operates in transient states. Measurements from a clean counterflow heat exchanger are first used to optimize the Kalman filter. Then fouling is considered. The results show that the proposed method is very sensitive, hence well suited for fouling detection.     

Experimental observation of surface morphology effect on crystallization fouling in plate heat exchangers

In this study, stainless steel test plates with different surface roughness and textures, which are used as the heat transfer surface of a plate heat exchanger, are tested individually in calcium carbonate fouling experiments. The present experimental results clearly indicate a strong correlation between the surface roughness and the amount of crystallization fouling deposit. Through detailed image analysis, four stages of the formation of crystallization fouling are identified, and the impact of the surface morphology on the extent of crystallization fouling is described qualitatively.     

Identifying optimal cleaning cycles for heat exchangers subject to fouling and ageing

Fouling of heat exchangers causes reduced heat transfer and other penalties. Regular cleaning represents one widely used fouling mitigation strategy, where the schedule of cleaning actions can be optimised to minimise the cost of fouling. This paper investigates, for the first time, the situation where there are two cleaning methods available so that the mode of cleaning has to be selected as well as the cleaning interval. Ageing is assumed to convert the initial deposit, labelled ‘gel’, into a harder and more conductive form, labelled ‘coke’, which cannot be removed by one of the cleaning methods. The second method can remove both the gel layer and the coke layer, but costs more and requires the unit to be off-line longer for cleaning. Experimental data demonstrating the effects of ageing are presented. The industrial application is the comparison of cleaning-in-place methods with off-line mechanical cleaning. A process model is constructed for an isolated counter-current heat exchanger subject to fouling, where ageing is described by a simple two-layer model. Solutions generated by an NLP-based approach prove to be superior to a simpler heuristic. A series of case studies demonstrate that combinations of chemical and mechanical cleaning can be superior to mechanical cleaning alone for certain combinations of parameters.     

换热器结垢工况下换热系数变化的分析研究

介绍了换热器污垢热阻的数学模型，包括污垢沉积模型和剥蚀模型。分析了换热器结垢工况下的换热系数的变化，重点研究了时间、流体雷诺数Re和流体—污垢界面温度Ts对换熟系数K的影响，以及在结垢诱导期内换热系数K的变化。得到了冷却水流速与污垢热阻之间的关系式，界面温度Ts与污垢热阻和换热系数之间关系的示意图，并得出了诱导期内的换热系数K大于结垢过程的其他四个阶段的结论。最后，阐述了分析结果对工程的实际指导意义。     

Configuration optimization of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with helical baffles using multi-objective genetic algorithm based on fluid-structure interaction

The configuration parameters of helical angle and overlapped degree of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with helical baffles have been discussed for the thermal-structural comprehensive performance. Based on fluid-structure interaction theory, a method on configuration optimization of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with helical baffles is introduced using second-order polynomial regression response surface combined with Multi-objective Genetic Algorithm. The results show that the heat transfer coefficient per unit pressure drop of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with helical baffles increases firstly and then decreases with the increase of helical angle, and decreases with the increase of overlapped degree under certain shell-inlet velocity. And the performance of flow and heat transfer is more sensitive to helical angle compared with overlapped degree. The maximum shear stress increases with helical angle, but it is almost unaffected by overlapped degree for mechanical properties of helical baffles. The objectives of optimization are the heat transfer coefficient per unit pressure drop maximizing and maximum shear stress minimizing with scope of allowable stress, and three optimal structures are obtained. The optimal results indicate that the heat transfer coefficient per unit pressure drop increases averagely by 14.1%, the maximum shear stress decreases averagely by 4.1%, which provides theoretical guidance for industrial design of shell-and-tube heat exchangers with helical baffles.     

竖直埋管地热换热器的设计

为优化地热换热器的设计，利用地源热泵地热换热器设计专用软件，结合实际工程，对竖直U型埋管地热换热器设计的不同方案作了比较，对主要影响因素进行了分析，从技术和经济两方面阐明了地热换热器设计时应考虑的主要因素及设计方法。     

地埋管换热器布置形式对土壤平均温度的影响

在使用土壤源热泵的系统中,因地埋管布置形式的不同,土壤源热泵系统对地下温度场的影响也不同。结合Fluent与TRNSYS模拟软件,在排除管群之间热作用影响的条件下,从钻孔间距、钻孔数量、钻孔深度这些影响因素出发,研究土壤源热泵系统运行1a后土壤温度场的分布情况。结果表明:改变钻孔间距对土壤平均温度的影响要大于改变钻孔数量以及钻孔深度。