Heat Exchanger Tube Fouling versus Pressure Drop

[JohnFLund]

I am trying to use flow versus pressure drop through heat exchanger tubes to determine equipment condition. The original flow versus pressure drop data obtained through testing in 1995 matched the calculated data for the heat exchanger. However, the pressure drop in the heat exchanger is currently greater than expected. The current data was obtained in a heat exchanger that was cleaned 3 months ago. Is there any information that correlates tube fouling and pressure drop versus flow through heat exchanger tubes.

 

[GatorOne]

In general, experience is the best indicator because fouling is a very broad topic and many factors influence how it affects a heat exchanger such as layers, porosity, thickness, rate of accumulation, conductivity of the layer, etc. Some software programs will use a thickness and conductivity values to calculate a fouling resistance for heat transfer and pressure drop (restricted area, higher fluid velocity, higher pressure drop) but this mechanism may or may not reflect the exact type of fouling you have. Hope this helps.