EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF CRYSTALLIZATION FOULING ON GROOVED STAINLESS STEEL SURFACES DURING CONVECTIVE HEAT TRANSFER

摘要

The beneficial aspects of enhanced or extended heat transfer surfaces may be off-set if operated under fouling conditions. In the present paper, preliminary experimental results for crystallization fouling of CaSO_4 solutions onto surfaces with different structures are reported. Flat stainless steel plates (50 mm × 59 mm) with 'V shaped grooves on the side of fluid flow were used as heat transfer surfaces. Experiments were carried out both under clean and fouling conditions to discern how the same surface structures perform under such circumstances. In addition, the impact of both, the direction of grooves with respect to fluid flow (crossed, longitudinal and mixed flow grooves) and the groove dimensions has also been investigated. Fouling trends are discussed in terms of delay time and fouling rate. Significant differences have been found for the various flow conditions.