Tailored surfaces for the mitigation of fouling in industrial heat exchangers

The possibility of influencing the fouling behavior of heat transfer surfaces by the modification of energetic surface properties is examined. The extension of the induction period depends on the fluid velocity because of the low adhesion of tailored surfaces requiring a specific shear stress to detach crystal clusters. In a double pipe heat exchanger test rig, it is possible to investigate fouling behavior under operational and geometric conditions representative for typical industrial applications. Future tests on interior coated tubes are highlighted. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 18th International Congress of Chemical and Process Engineering (Prague, Czech Republic 8/24-28/2008).