Maldistribution of flow in heat exchangers may have dramatic consequences on thermal and mechanical performance. This article summarizes some of the insights and experience discussed during a recent symposium on this subject. The paper concludes that maldistribution of flow should not normally be a problem in single-phase heat exchangers where good engineering practice is pursued. However, two-phase flow heat exchangers still pose a formidable challenge if poor performance resulting from maldistribution of flow is to be avoided.
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