Numerical model of particle deposition on fin surface of heat exchanger

Abstract

Dust particle deposition on fin surface has a significant influence on the performance of fin-and-tube heat exchangers, and the purpose of this study is to develop a numerical model for predicting the particle deposition rate on fin surface. In the model, the particle trajectories were calculated by the particle motion equation; the particle deposition on the fin surface was described based on the critical impact angle and the critical sticking velocity of incident particles; the particle deposition on the formed fouling layer was described based on the critical impact angle, the critical sticking velocity and the critical removal velocity of incident particles. The particle distributions on fin surface predicted by the model agree well with the images captured in the visualization experiment. The predicted particle deposition weight per unit area can describe 88% of the experimental data within a deviation of ±20% and the mean deviation is 12.8%.