Failure Analysis of Heat Exchangers

2021 ◽  
pp. 3-19
Author(s):  
Dusan P. Sekulic
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Failure Analysis ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Solid Surface ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Heat Transfer Surface ◽  
Tubular Heat Exchanger ◽  
Erosion Corrosion ◽  
Different Temperatures

Abstract Heat exchangers are devices used to transfer thermal energy between two or more fluids, between a solid surface and a fluid, or between a solid particulate and a fluid at different temperatures. This article first addresses the causes of failures in heat exchangers. It then provides a description of heat-transfer surface area, discussing the design of the tubular heat exchanger. Next, the article discusses the processes involved in the examination of failed parts. Finally, it describes the most important types of corrosion, including uniform, galvanic, pitting, stress, and erosion corrosion.

The Effect of Gravity on Heat Transfer by Rayleigh Streaming in Pulse Tubes and Thermal Buffer Tubes

2004 ◽  
Author(s):  
Konstantin I. Matveev ◽  
Scott Backhaus ◽  
Gregory W. Swift
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Analytical Model ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Acoustic Energy ◽  
Heat Leak ◽  
Thermoacoustic Engines ◽  
Different Temperatures ◽  
Rayleigh Streaming ◽  
Streaming Flow

Thermoacoustic engines and refrigerators use the interaction between heat and sound to produce acoustic energy or to transport thermal energy. Heat leaks in thermal buffer tubes and pulse tubes, components in thermoacoustic devices that separate heat exchangers at different temperatures, reduce the efficiency of these systems. At high acoustic amplitudes, Rayleigh mass streaming can become the dominat means for undesirable heat leak. Gravity affects the streaming flow patterns and influences streaming-induced heat convection. A simplified analytical model is constructed that shows gravity can reduce the streaming heat leak dramatically.

Finned Elliptical Tubes and Their Application in Air-Cooled Heat Exchangers

1966 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franz J. Schulenberg
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Heat Transfer Surface ◽  
Great Success ◽  
Sufficient Criterion ◽  
Tube Heat Exchanger ◽  
Circular Tubes ◽  
Fin Tube

Finned circular tubes have been used exclusively in air-cooled heat exchangers built for the American petroleum and chemical industries. In Europe, however, other tube geometries, in particular, finned elliptical tubes, have been used with great success. In this paper, the theory of the finned elliptical tube and its application in air-cooled heat exchangers are discussed. Finned circular and elliptical tubes are compared; it is shown that the developed heat transfer surface alone is not a sufficient criterion for predicting the performance of an air-cooled fin-tube heat exchanger.

Crystallization Fouling in Plate Heat Exchangers

1993 ◽  
Vol 115 (3) ◽  
pp. 584-591 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Bansal ◽  
H. Mu¨ller-Steinhagen
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Flow Velocity ◽  
Wall Temperature ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Calcium Sulfate ◽  
Surface Reaction ◽  
Heat Transfer Surface ◽  
Plate Heat

Crystallization fouling of calcium sulfate was investigated in a plate and frame heat exchanger. The effects of flow velocity, wall temperature, and CaSO4, concentration on the fouling rates have been investigated and the distribution of scale along the heat transfer surface has been observed. The measured fouling curves are compared with predictions from a surface reaction controlled model.

Effect of Surface Roughness on Thermal-Hydraulic Characteristics of Plate Heat Exchanger

2013 ◽  
Vol 597 ◽  
pp. 63-74 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jan Wajs ◽  
Dariusz Mikielewicz
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Single Phase ◽  
Plate Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Transfer Surface ◽  
Surface Model ◽  
Phase System ◽  
Hydraulic Characteristics ◽  
Plate Heat

In the paper the experimental analysis of passive heat transfer intensification in the case of modeled plate heat exchanger is conducted. The plate heat exchanger is chosen for the analysis because this kind of heat exchangers could be prospectively applied in the ORC systems, however other areas or application are equally possible. The experimental set-up was assembled at the Department of Energy and Industrial Apparatus of Gdansk University of Technology. The passive intensification was obtained by a modification of the heat transfer surface. The roughness of surface was increased by use of glass shot.During the experiment single-phase convective heat transfer in the single phase system was studied. The experiment was done in two stages. In the first stage the model of commercial plate heat exchanger was investigated, while in the second stage the identical one but with modified heat transfer surface. Model of heat exchanger consisted of three plates. The direct comparison of thermal and flow characteristics between both devices was possible due to assurance of equivalent conditions at the inlet to the system.The thermal and hydraulic characteristics are presented. The thermal analysis shows that in some range of heat flux density the overall heat transfer coefficient was higher for the commercial heat exchanger, while for the other was higher for the heat exchanger with modified surface. The influence of larger roughness on heat transfer cannot unequivocally be evaluated. Therefore as the next step the systematic investigations of model heat exchangers (only with one hot and one cold passage) will be conducted.

Best Strategies for the Development of a Holistic Porosity Model of a Heat Exchanger for Aero Engine Applications

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Yakinthos ◽  
D. Misirlis ◽  
Z. Vlahostergios ◽  
M. Flouros ◽  
S. Donnerhack ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Pressure Loss ◽  
Engine Performance ◽  
Operational Parameters ◽  
Tubular Heat Exchanger ◽  
Tube Heat Exchanger ◽  
Aero Engine ◽  
Porosity Model

In an attempt to manage CFD computations in aero engine heat exchanger design, this work presents the best strategies and the methodology used to develop a holistic porosity model, describing the heat transfer and pressure drop behavior of a complex profiled tubular heat exchanger for aero engine applications. Due to the complexity of the profile tube heat exchanger geometry and the very large number of tubes, detailed CFD computations require very high CPU and memory resources. For this reason the complex heat exchanger geometry is replaced in the CFD computations by a simpler porous medium geometry with predefined pressure loss and heat transfer. The present work presents a strategy for developing a holistic porosity model adapted for heat exchangers, which is capable to describe their macroscopic heat transfer and pressure loss average performance. For the derivation of the appropriate pressure loss and heat transfer correlations, CFD computations and experimental measurements are combined. The developed porosity model is taking into consideration both streams of the heat exchanger (hot and cold side) in order to accurately calculate the inner and outer pressure losses, in relation to the achieved heat transfer and in conjunction with the selected heat exchanger geometry, weight and operational parameters. For the same heat exchanger, RAM and CPU requirement reductions were demonstrated for a characteristic flow passage of the heat exchanger, as the porosity model required more than 80 times less computational points than the detailed CFD model. The proposed porosity model can be adapted for recuperation systems with varying heat exchanger designs having different core arrangements and tubes sizes and configurations, providing an efficient tool for the optimization of the heat exchangers design and leading to an increase of the overall aero engine performance.

scholarly journals A Review of Airside Heat Transfer Augmentation with Vortex Generators on Heat Transfer Surface

Energies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 2737 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Chai ◽  
Savvas Tassou
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Circular Tube ◽  
Vortex Generator ◽  
Heat Transfer Surface ◽  
Vortex Generators ◽  
Flat Tube ◽  
Heat Transfer Augmentation ◽  
Oval Tube

Heat exchanger performance can be improved via the introduction of vortex generators to the airside surface, based on the mechanism that the generated longitudinal vortices can disrupt the boundary layer growth, increase the turbulence intensity and produce secondary fluid flows over the heat transfer surfaces. The key objective of this paper is to provide a critical overview of published works relevant to such heat transfer surfaces. Different types of vortex generator are presented, and key experimental techniques and numerical methodologies are summarized. Flow phenomena associated with vortex generators embedded, attached, punched or mounted on heat transfer surfaces are investigated, and the thermohydraulic performance (heat transfer and pressure drop) of four different heat exchangers (flat plate, finned circular-tube, finned flat-tube and finned oval-tube) with various vortex-generator geometries, is discussed for different operating conditions. Furthermore, the thermohydraulic performance of heat transfer surfaces with recently proposed vortex generators is outlined and suggestions on using vortex generators for airside heat transfer augmentation are presented. In general, the airside heat transfer surface performance can be substantially enhanced by vortex generators, but their impact can also be significantly influenced by many parameters, such as Reynolds number, tube geometry (shape, diameter, pitch, inline/staggered configuration), fin type (plane/wavy/composite, with or without punched holes), and vortex-generator geometry (shape, length, height, pitch, attack angle, aspect ratio, and configuration). The finned flat-tube and finned oval-tube heat exchangers with recently proposed vortex generators usually show better thermohydraulic performance than finned circular tube heat exchangers. Current heat exchanger optimization approaches are usually based on the thermohydraulic performance alone. However, to ensure quick returns on investment, heat exchangers with complex geometries and surface vortex generators, should be optimized using cost-based objective functions that consider the thermohydraulic performance alongside capital cost, running cost of the system as well as safety and compliance with relevant international standards for different applications.

scholarly journals Heat Exchanger Design and Optimization

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shahin Kharaji
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Minimum Weight ◽  
Thermal Design ◽  
Design And Optimization ◽  
Heat Exchanger Design ◽  
Common Criteria ◽  
Different Temperatures ◽  
Minimum Heat

A heat exchanger is a unit operation used to transfer heat between two or more fluids at different temperatures. There are many different types of heat exchangers that are categorized based on different criteria, such as construction, flow arrangement, heat transfer mechanism, etc. Heat exchangers are optimized based on their applications. The most common criteria for optimization of heat exchangers are the minimum initial cost, minimum operation cost, maximum effectiveness, minimum pressure drop, minimum heat transfer area, minimum weight, or material. Using the data modeling, the optimization of a heat exchanger can be transformed into a constrained optimization problem and then solved by modern optimization algorithms. In this chapter, the thermal design and optimization of shell and tube heat exchangers are presented.

Analysis of Heat Transfer Surface Geometries for Dry Cooling Tower Applications

1980 ◽  
Vol 102 (4) ◽  
pp. 807-812 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Montakhab
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Cooling Tower ◽  
Heat Transfer Surface ◽  
Per Se ◽  
Fin Tube ◽  
Dry Cooling Tower ◽  
Heat Exchanger Surface ◽  
Dry Cooling

An analysis of heat exchanger surface geometries for the purpose of reducing dry cooling tower cost is presented. Two sets of results are derived. The first set can be used to evaluate heat transfer surface geometries in an attempt to select those most suitable for dry cooling tower applications. The second set of results can be used to direct research and development efforts toward developing better geometries for dry cooling tower applications. The first set of results is general and is applicable to all heat exchanger surface geometries. The second set is valid only for helical round or continuous fins having smooth, serrated, or cut fins and for staggered and in-line tube arrangements. The methods developed in this paper are not restricted to dry cooling towers per se, but are valid for other applications of fin tube heat exchangers as well.

Design and Testing of High-Performance Mini-Channel Graphite Heat Exchangers in Thermoelectric Energy Recovery Systems

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry J. Hendricks ◽  
Bryan Mcenerney ◽  
Fivos Drymiotis ◽  
Ben Furst ◽  
Abhibit Shevade
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Thermal Expansion ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Thermal Energy ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Energy Recovery ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Thermoelectric Energy ◽  
Graphite Heat

Recent national energy usage studies by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in 2015 [1] show that there is approximately 59 Quads (1015 Btu’s) of waste thermal energy throughout various industrial, residential, power generation, and transportation sectors of the U.S. economy. Thermoelectric energy recovery is one important technology for recovering this waste thermal energy in high-temperature industrial, transportation and military energy systems. Thermoelectric generator (TEG) systems in these applications require high performance hot-side and cold-side heat exchangers to provide the critical temperature differential and transfer the required thermal energy. High performance hot-side heat exchangers in these systems are often metal-based due to requirements for high-temperature operation, strength at temperature, corrosion resistance, and chemical stability. However, the generally selected metal-based hot-side heat exchangers (i.e., Inconels, Stainless Steels) suffer from low thermal conductivity, high thermal expansion, and high density, which degrades their thermal performance, leads to high thermal-expansion-driven stresses, and creates relatively high mass/high volume (i.e., low power density) TEG systems that are then difficult to fabricate and integrate into viable energy recovery systems. This paper describes the design and testing of a new, high-temperature minichannel graphite heat exchanger designed for operation up to 500°C that is a critical element of a high-power-density TEG power system for aircraft energy recovery. This high-performance graphite heat exchanger represents a new state-of-the-art standard in high-temperature heat exchangers for TEG systems, which provides higher thermal transport, less thermal expansion at operation, lower system level stresses on TE components, and a lighter weight TEG system. This new heat exchanger creates a new design paradigm in TEG system design for terrestrial energy recovery and potential NASA technology infusion into terrestrial energy system applications. This paper will present and discuss the key heat transfer, pressure drop, pumping power analyses and design tradeoffs that created this unique design. Heat transfer and pressure drop modeling was performed with both empirical models based on known heat transfer and friction factor correlations and COMSOL thermal/fluid dynamic modeling of the graphite heat exchanger structure. We will also discuss resulting thermal transport and heat fluxes predicted at the TEG interface level. Heat exchanger performance testing was performed under simulated operating conditions and correlation with test data at the anticipated operating temperature conditions will be presented and discussed.

Development of Heat Exchanger Fouling Model and Preventive Maintenance Diagnostic Tool

2007 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Zabiri ◽  
V. R. Radhakrishnan ◽  
M. Ramasamy ◽  
N. M. Ramli ◽  
V. Do Thanh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Predictive Model ◽  
Diagnostic Tool ◽  
Preventive Maintenance ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Waste Heat ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Transfer Efficiency ◽  
Heat Transfer Efficiency

The Crude Preheat Train (CPT) is a set of large heat exchangers which recover the waste heat from product streams back to preheat the crude oil. The overall heat transfer coefficient in these heat exchangers may be significantly reduced due to fouling. One of the major impacts of fouling in CPT operation is the reduced heat transfer efficiency. The objective of this paper is to develop a predictive model using statistical methods which can a priori predict the rate of the fouling and the decrease in heat transfer efficiency in a heat exchanger in a crude preheat train. This predictive model will then be integrated into a preventive maintenance diagnostic tool to plan the cleaning of the heat exchanger to remove the fouling and bring back the heat exchanger efficiency to their peak values. The fouling model was developed using historical plant operating data and is based on Neural Network. Results show that the predictive model is able to predict the shell and tube outlet temperatures with excellent accuracy, where the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) obtained is less than 1%, correlation coefficient R2 of approximately 0.98 and Correct Directional Change (CDC) values of more than 90%. A preliminary case study shows promising indication that the predictive model may be integrated into a preventive maintenance scheduling for the heat exchanger cleaning.

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