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Fouling Factors in Flownex Heat Transfer Models

About the Project

Fouling can have a significant influence on heat transfer processes by reducing the actual heat transfer rate and may therefore need to be taken into account in some cases. In addition, fouling may also influence flow properties such as velocities and pressure drops due to changes in the coil pipe inside diameter and roughness, however this case study only focusses on the influence on heat transfer. Flownex offers impressive heat transfer capabilities as standard, however it is not so obvious how to account for fouling in heat transfer problems. Fortunately, due to Flownex’s scripting capabilities and extensive materials library, this problem can be solved with relative ease.

Two methods to account for thermal fouling are presented. Both may provide results of acceptable accuracy; however it is shown that in extreme cases with high fouling and high heat fluxes, it may be necessary to model the physical fouling layers to improve accuracy. Fortunately, Flownex is perfectly suited to performing this task.

Flownex^® offers the user the ability to implement calculations which form part of the solution network. In this way, it is relatively simple to implement the equations required to account for the influence of thermal fouling. What sets Flownex apart from the competition is its ability to model even the temperature profiles through a multi-layered pipe wall subjected to heat transfer.