An experimental and numerical investigation of heat transfer fouling and fluid flow in flat plate heat exchangers

Recent investigations have shown that similar commercial heat exchanger pla tes with different corrugation patterns, fouled at very different rates und er identical process conditions. These differences are attributed to the ef fects of flow distribution on fouling rates in the plate channels. Conseque ntly, the effects of flow distribution on fouling were studied experimental ly using flat heat exchanger plates with and without flow distributers. The aim of the different distributor designs was to obtain a more even how dis tribution within the plate channels. Flow simulations were performed for di fferent distributor designs and different plate shapes. Computational resul ts compared well with those obtained experimentally.