Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of New South Wales, 2001. / Also available online.

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Fouling, a problem since the first heat exchanger was created, has been the focus of various studies since the 1970s. In particular, crude oil fouling is a costly and problematic type of heat exchanger fouling that occurs in the preheat train to the atmospheric distillation column in petroleum refineries. Previous experiments have been designed to determine the causes of fouling using less than one gallon of crude oil and accumulating test results within a day. These experiments will be the basis of the Rotating Fouling Unit (RFU) at Heat Transfer Research Inc. (HTRI). The RFU focuses on better controlling the shear stress and heat transfer distribution along the surface of the heated test section by analyzing Taylor-Couette flow experiments and using them as a basis to better predict the flow across the heated surface of the test section in the RFU. Additionally, the equations for Taylor-Couette flow are used to verify the 2D flow simulations of the RFU to ensure the accuracy of the results. The design of the RFU incorporates data acquisition with a variety of measurements that will facilitate automatic and accurate data collection, so the results can be easily compared to previous fouling experiments. The RFU will act as a supplement to the High Temperature Fouling Unit (HTFU) at HTRI, and provide data comparable to that of the HTFU in order to better understand crude oil fouling. Computer simulations can accurately predict the shear stress and heat transfer coefficient along the surface of the test probe and help verify the improvements made to the original batch stirred cell designs.

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Yes / Fouling in heat exchangers (HE) is a major problem in industry and accurate prediction of the onset or degree of fouling would be of a huge benefit to the operators. Modelling of the fouling phenomenon however, remains a challenging field of study. Cleaning of heat exchangers, coulpled with the down time, is a financial burden and for industrialized nations and costs can reach to almost 0.25 % of the country’s Gross National Product (Pritchard, 1988).This work presents the development of a dynamic fouling model based on experimental data collected using a laboratory concentric tube heat exchanger handling a saline system. Heat transfer coefficients were obtained from first principles as well as from either the Sieder-Tate or Petukhov-Kirillov correlations modified by Gnielinski depending on the flow regime. The outlet temperatures were calculated using the Effectiveness-NTU method. The dynamic fouling factor was based on the Kern and Seaton fouling model and validation was completed by comparing the experimental outlet temperatures with those predicted by the model. The model predicts the outlet temperatures with an average discrepancy of 1.6 °C and 0.4 °C for the cold and hot streams respectively.

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