Study on dynamic measurement of fouling thermal resistance in a boiler

Abstract

A fouling thermal resistance method is introduced, for evaluating water quality in real time through measuring fouling thermal resistance on heat transfer surface. A simple device as a boiler heat transfer model was designed for measuring the deposition of dirt by the fouling thermal resistance method. The change in the thermal resistance of the fouling was measured with regard to samples with different water quality. The temperature-time curves were plotted with respect to the measured data of various temperatures over the whole process of temperature rise and fall to examine the feasibility of the method in evaluating the thermal resistance of the fouling contributed by the hardness of the water, finding that the fitted curve can characterize the fouling deposition of high hardness water. It has been shown that this experimental device can be improved further in the hope of being applied in practical use.