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Experimental study of the seawater fouling on a plate-frame heat exchanger for utilization of waste heat from powerplant

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Abstract

The overall heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop, and the fouling thermal resistance were compared between a clean and a seawater-exposed, fouled plate-frame heat exchanger. The fouled heat exchanger was utilized for heat recovery from the seawater-effluent for 3 months at a powerplant site. The performance tests were conducted at temperatures of 20 °C and 30 °C on the fouled-side, while the corresponding temperatures on the clean-side were 15 °C and 25 °C, respectively. Flow rate ranged from 20 to 40 l·min−1 on the fouled-side and the clean-side of the heat exchanger. In the absence of fouling, the average U value was higher than that under the fouling condition by 21.3 %. The average thermal resistance ranged from 0.135 m2·K·kW−1 to 0.157 m2·K·kW−1. The pressure drop was less than 2 kPa with the change of temperature, but the pressure drop of the fouled-side increased by 400 % compared with that of the clean-side.

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Abbreviations

A :

Area, m2

c p :

Specific heat, J · kg−1 · K−1

D p :

Port diameter, m

h :

Heat transfer coefficient, W · m−2 · K−1

i :

Index for measurement parameters

k :

Thermal conductivity, W · m−1 · K−1

L h :

Horizontal port distance, m

L p :

Projected plate length, m

L v :

Vertical port distance (flow length in one pass), m

L w :

Plate width inside gasket, m

LMTD :

Log mean temperature difference, K

ṁ :

Mass flow rate, kg · s−1

P :

Pressure, kPa

Q :

Heat capacity, W

R :

Thermal resistance, m2 · K · kW−1

T :

Temperature, °C

t :

Plate thickness, m

U :

Overall heat transfer coefficient, W · m−2 · K−1

U :

Uncertainty

β :

Chevron angle, degree

Δ :

Difference

c :

Clean

f :

Fouled

i :

Inlet

o :

Outlet

X :

Measured value

Y :

Calculated value

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Acknowledgments

This research was jointly supported by the Korea Institute of Energy Technology Evaluation and Planning (Grant No. 20163010150010), and by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (NRF-2016R1D1A1B02010075).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mechanical of Engineering, Hanbat National University, Daejeon, 34158, Korea

    Wonkeun Baik & Rin Yun

  2. New and Renewable Energy Institute, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeon, 34129, Korea

    Jaehyeok Heo

Authors
  1. Wonkeun Baik
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  2. Rin Yun
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  3. Jaehyeok Heo
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jaehyeok Heo.

Additional information

Recommended by Associate Editor Joon Ahn

Wonkeun Baik received the M.E. in mechanical engineering from Hanbat National University, Daejeon, South Korea in 2019. His current research interests are transportation of Captured CO2, and design of plate heat exchanger for power plant.

Rin Yun is a Professor of Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hanbat National University, Daejeon, South Korea. His research interests are utilizing natural refrigerants, transportation of Captured CO2, and gas-hydrate as a secondary fluid.

Jaehyeok Heo is a Senior Researcher of New and Renewable Energy Institute, Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeon, South Korea. His research interests include renewable thermal energy hybrid system, thermal storage system, and solar thermal system.

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Baik, W., Yun, R. & Heo, J. Experimental study of the seawater fouling on a plate-frame heat exchanger for utilization of waste heat from powerplant. J Mech Sci Technol 33, 5025–5032 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-0941-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-019-0941-6

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