Abstract
Energy efficiency, safety and stable operation of units are the most crucial aspects in every industrial process. In this study, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were used to study heat transfer in a laboratory-sized tubular heat exchanger. A partly 2D axisymmetric and mainly 3D model of the heat exchanger was created and validated with several simulation in different operating points of heating capacity and volume flow. The results of the simulations were compared to experimental data to validate the model. The inlet and outlet temperatures were measured with Pt100 temperature probes, and the surface temperatures were measured with an infrared camera. The heat transfer coefficient was determined based on the surface measurements The validated model was applied for the investigation of performance losses of heat exchanger due to fouling caused by particle deposits along the tube which caused reduced heat transfer surface or performance and a failure of heating wire which caused reduced heating performance, hence altered heat and flow characteristics through the equipment. The results provide useful information not only in the design processes but the operational lifetime as well.
Highlights
Heat exchangers are one of the most generally used equipment in the chemical industries
In the first case we calculated the performance loss due to fouling, and in the other case we investigated the performance loss due to a heating wire failure
We showed how the developed Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model of the equipment was used in different simulations and how it can be applied to investigate the performance losses due to failures of the heat exchanger
Summary
Heat exchangers are one of the most generally used equipment in the chemical industries. The k–ε and the Sparalt-Allmaras models were applied with computational grids of different sizes They found good agreement with measurement results only with a 2 % difference in case of heat transfer coefficient. Somasekhar et al [17] created a simulation model for a multi-pass shell and tube exchanger Their primary goal was to test different heat transfer media by adding nanoparticles to the base fluid (distilled water). We investigated the fouling phenomenon with particle tracing method, where only the solution of the momentum balance is necessary to get results about the expected places of deposits With this method critical information can be gained in less time compared to other techniques (like adaptive mesh calculation for the modelling of the fouling domain)
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