Thinking about Heat Transfer Fouling: A 5 × 5 Matrix

Abstract

Abstract Fouling of heat transfer surfaces, which leads to high economic penalties and is still dealt with by heat exchanger designers by the crude TEMA approach, is classified into five principal categories. The measurement of thermal fouling is considered critically, and this is followed by a discussion of the successive events, up to five in number, that characterize most fouling situations. The resulting 5×5 matrix of fouling categories and sequential events illustrates the fact that the fundamental fouling problem has now been mainly resolved, at least for liquid-solid interfaces, although it still remains largely unsolved. Additional informationNotes on contributorsNORMAN EPSTEIN Norman Epstein is a professor of chemical engineering at the University of British Columbia. He Received his Bachelor and Master of Engineering degrees at MCGill University (1945,1946) and his Ph.D..at New york University (953). He has published, particulate, and transport phenomena and has coauthored a book on Spouted Beds (Academic Press, 1974). He is currently engaged in work on fouling probes, colloidal hindered settling, three-phase fluidization, and spouting.