Erosion in the tube entrance region of an air-cooled heat exchanger |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Mechanical Engineering Department, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Box # 322, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia;2. Saudi Aramco, Saudi Arabia;1. Institute of Thermal Science and Power Engineering, Naval University of Engineering, Wuhan 430033, PR China;2. Military Key Laboratory for Naval Ship Power Engineering, Naval University of Engineering, Wuhan 430033, PR China;3. College of Power Engineering, Naval University of Engineering, Wuhan 430033, PR China;1. Technology Center for Strength of Structures, The Agency for the Assessment and Application of Technology, Building #220, Region Puspiptek Serpong, Banten, Indonesia;2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, South Ural State University (National Research University), 76 Lenin Ave., Chelyabinsk, 454080, Russia;1. LUTH, Observatoire de Paris, CNRS UMR 8102, Université Paris-Diderot, 5 place Jules Janssen, 92195 Meudon cedex, France;2. IPR Université Rennes 1, UMR CNRS 6251, Bâtiment 11A, Campus Beaulieu, 35042 Rennes cedex, France;3. African Institute for Mathematical Sciences (AIMS), KM 2, Route de Joal (Centre IRD Mbour), B.P. 1418 Mbour, Senegal;1. Institut de Seguretat Industrial, Radiofísica i Mediambiental (ISIRIM), Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), Camí de Vera s/n, 46022 València Spain;2. Departament of Nuclear Engineering, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7909, USA;3. Kern Kraftwerk Leibstadt (KKL), Eigen, 5325 Leibstadt, Switzerland |
| |
| Abstract: | Erosion in the tube entrance region of a typical air-cooled heat exchanger is numerically predicted. The erosion rates are obtained for different flow rates and particle sizes assuming low particle concentration. The erosion prediction is based on using a mathematical model for simulating the fluid velocity field and another model for simulating the motion of solid particles. The fluid velocity model is based on the solution of the time-averaged governing equations of 3-D turbulent flow while the particle-tracking model is based on the solution of the governing equation of each particle motion taking into consideration the viscous and gravity forces as well as the effect of particle rebound behavior. The computational model was validated against available experimental data and the comparison resulted in a good agreement. The investigation covered particle sizes from 10 to 350 μm and inlet flow velocities from 0.18 to 4.5 m/s. The results show that the location and number of eroded tubes depend mainly on the particle size and flow velocity at the header inlet. The total rate of erosion was found to increase exponentially with flow velocity. At high flow velocities, the maximum total erosion rate results from large particles and the effect is reversed at low velocities. Similarly, the tube penetration rate was found to increase with the increase of flow velocity for all particle sizes. At the typical velocity of 1.1 m/s, the minimum tube lifetime was caused by the 350 μm particles and the maximum was caused by the 200 μm particles. Based on the obtained results, it is well established that erosion cannot be totally avoided so long as solid particles are present in the fluid. However, the threshold velocity below which erosion is negligible can be accurately defined if an acceptable lifetime (or penetration rate) is defined. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
