Decoupling analysis on the variations of liquid velocity and heat flux in the test of fouling thermal resistance

Fouling deposit is a common issue on the heat transfer surface caused by the impurity of working water. Many researchers conducted experimental test to study the relationship between the fouling thermal resistance and operating parameters, such as water quality, tube geometry, and liquid velocity, targeting at developing the accurate correlation of fouling thermal resistance on heat transfer tubes. The accurate test of fouling thermal resistance is critical for investigators. In fouling test, with the fouling deposit on the internal surface, both the liquid (water) velocity through the tube and the heat flux of the test tube deviated automatically. Although testers usually tried to adjust the water velocity and heat flux back to the original point, it is hard to be realized, thus the water velocity and heat flux deviated somehow inevitably. In fact, the variations of water velocity and heat flux would cause the change of overall thermal resistance of test tubes, which should be separated from the change caused by fouling deposit. This process could be named as "decoupling". This paper analyzed the effect of deviations of water velocity and heat flux on the test results of fouling resistance quantitatively based on experimental test, and a decoupling method and formulas were developed. One set of accelerated fouling test was conducted and result shows the fouling resistance with decoupling and non-decoupling had a maximum difference of 0.000002124 m(2) K/W for tube 1, and 0.000002363 m(2) K/W for Tube 2, 0.000001316 m(2) K/W for tube 3. (C) 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.