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wall
= wall shear stress, Pa
f = friction factor
= density, kg/m
3
= velocity, m/s
P = pressure drop, Pa
D
h
= hydraulic diameter, m
L = channel length, m
S&T:
= 2.0 m/s, f = 0.007
=>
wall
= 14 Pa
CP:
= 0.5 m/s, f = 0.5
=>
wall
= 63 Pa
wall
= (f * *
2
)/2 = (P * D
h
)/(4 * L)
wall
= (f * *
2
)/2 = (P * D
h
)/(4 * L)
High shear stress
can minimize fouling
Shear stress () as a function of velocity
Shear stress
1
10
100
1000
0.1 1 10
V, m/s
w
, N/m
PHE, H-theta
PHE, M-theta
PHE, L-theta
SHE, f=0.012
SHE, f=0.008
Tube, f=0.007
The three different channels gives
different shear stress - L, M, H
For the same velocity
the PHE gives a higher
shear stress than the
Shell & Tube
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
1
0
3
0
5
0
7
0
9
0
1
1
0
1
3
0
1
5
0
1
7
0
1
9
0
Shear stess ( pa )
F
o
u
l
i
n
g
r
e
s
i
s
t
a
n
c
e
g
r
o
w
t
h
r
a
t
e
(
1
0
E
-
8
m
2
K
/
W
h
)
Shear stress versus fouling rate
Rule of thumb: Try to keep the shear stress >50 Pa
Two ways of including safety factors
Fouling factor Defined for Shell & Tubes
K-value margin Defined for Plate Heat Exchangers
Design safety factors
Why safety factors when designing?
Variation in flow rates and physical properties
Allows fouling (dirt) on the plate and it still does the job
Design safety factors
Typical S&T in water-water duty
A normal Rf for S&T: 1,0 10
-4
m
2
C/W
A normal k
Clean
for S&T: 2000 W/ m
2
C
4
f
Clean Service
10
2000
1
R
k
1
k
1
+ = + =
k
Service
=1667 W/ m
2
C
What does this correspond to in K-value margin?
% 20
1667
1667 2000
100 100 arg =
=
service
service clean
k
k k
in M
Normal margin for S&T
Works with lower turbulence More fouling
Area not so easy to access for cleaning
Design safety factors
What if we apply the Rf on a PHE in water-water duty?
Rf for S&T on PHE: 1,0 10
-4
m
2
C/W
A normal k
Clean
for PHE: 6000 W/ m
2
C
4
f
Clean Service
10
6000
1
R
k
1
k
1
+ = + =
k
Service
=3750 W/ m
2
C
What does this correspond to in K-value margin?
% 60
3750
3750 6000
100 100 arg =
=
service
service clean
k
k k
in M
Much too high margin
Too many plate Less turbulence Fouling !
Maybe not competitive?
Fouling
What is fouling?
Something that:
Reduces the heat transfer
Increases the pressure drop
Something that destroys the plate material
Something that leads to maldistribution
5 types of fouling
Major debris
Biological growth
Scaling
Sedimentation
Burn-on
Fouling - major debris
What is major debris?
Large objects and particles that get stuck in the HE
Example, rocks, branches, coca-cola cans, fish
To avoid major debris clogging the HE use
Widegap heat exchangers
Spiral heat exchangers
Design with high shear stress to avoid clogging & fouling
Strainers (large mesh)
Filters (fine mesh)
Fouling - biological growth
What is biological growth?
Micro organisms that grow on the heat transfer surface
Example, algae, bacteria
To avoid major debris clogging the HE use
Chock poisoning
Chlorinating
Cleaning In Place (CIP)
Environmental problems
Cleaning In Place
Why use cleaning In Place?
Removes fouling without opening
Increases lifetime for heat exchangers
Minimises downtime
Cost effective
What is Cleaning In Place?
A chemical agent is circulated in
the HE to dissolve fouling
Important parameters
Concentration of the chemical
Temperature of the chemical
Time of circulation
Mechanical action (turbulence)
Fouling - scaling
What is scaling?
Many fluids contains dissolved salts
When the fluid is heated or cooled the salts solubility changes
The salt precipitates on the heat transfer surface
Normal solubility
Increased solubility at higher temperature
Most common
Precipitates when cooled down
Be careful when cooling
Example, sugar in water
Solubility
Temperature
Sugar
Fouling - scaling
Reversed solubility
Reduced solubility at higher temperature
Precipitates when heated up
Be careful when heating
Solubility
Temperature
Sugar
CaCO
3
Common problem
Cooling water with CaCO
3
and Ca(PO
4
)
2
Avoid cooling water outlet temperatures above 45-50C
Design with high shear stress ()
Recommend water treatment
Regularly apply CIP
Fouling - sedimentation
What is sedimentation?
Fine particles that settles on the heat transfer surface
Reduces the k-value and the HE does not perform
Difficult to remove in filter
Hard to dissolve with chemicals (CIP)
How to avoid it?
Design with high turbulence / shear stress
Utilise pressure drop
Use H-theta plates
Back-flushing can be an option
Fouling - burn on
What is burn on?
Breakdown or polymerisation of molecules that stick to the plate
Example, when you boil milk on the stove it burns easily
Common in food and organic applications
Caused by too high temperatures
How to avoid it?
Design with high turbulence / shear stress
Utilise pressure drop
Use H-theta plates
Check what wall temperature can be allowed
Apply co-current flow to reduce wall temperature
Fouling in PHE vs S&T
PHE is considered to foul less than a S&T
Baffles
High turbulence High shear stress Less fouling
Low wall temperatures due to efficient heat transfer
Less risk of scaling and crystallisation
Material is selected to avoid corrosion
(S&T have corrosion allowance)
No zones of low velocity
Fouling in PHE vs S&T
Examples, Heat Transfer Research Institute (HTRI)
HTRI study of typical fouling in cooling tower water
PHE S&T
Flow velocity (m/s) 0.45 1.8 m/s
Shear stress (Pa) ca 60 ca 15
Result: Fouling in PHE was 50-70% lower
PHE Higher turbulence at a lower velocity Less fouling
A common wrong belief A
A
common
common
wrong
wrong
belief
belief
PHEs require a higher pressure drop than S&T
Statement from Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook (7th
edition):
These narrow gaps and high number of contact points which change fluid
flow direction, combine to create a very high turbulence between the plates.
This means high individual-heat-transfer coefficient (up to 14200 W/m2C),
but also very high pressure drop per length as well. To compensate, the
channel plate length are usually short, most under 2 and few over 3 meters
in length. In general, the same pressure drop as conventional exchangers
are used without loss of the enhanced heat transfer.
This length, 2 to 3 meters, in Compabloc is even lower: max 750 mm...
Normal flow
Reversed flow
Backflushing
Flow direction is reversed
Flushes the debris out of the port and back to the source
Alfa Laval Port Filter
A simple solution without separate filter
Cylindrical perforated tube
Protects at the inlet port
Available on most M-serie PHEs
Mounted and dismantled from pressure plate
Requires
Hole in pressure plate
Lining
Inspection cover
Remove inspection cover
Pull out and empty
Alfa Laval Filters
Normal operation
Flushing
Back flushing
Advantages
Easy to install - Saves space
No extra pump capacity
No disturbance of operation
during flushing
Low pressure drop
High reliability
Low flushing pressure
Easy and quick service
Good corrosion resistance