Air-Side Fouling of Compact Heat Exchangers for Discrete Particle Size Ranges

The industrial problem of the air-side fouling of compact heat exchangers has been studied in a laboratory wind tunnel for particles in the μm to mm range. The measurements of pressure drop across the exchanger as well as the quantification and classification of the particles blocked by and passing through it were taken for discrete ranges of particle sizes. Observation showed that the blocked particles either drop to the wind tunnel floor, remain on the outside surface of the exchanger (falling to the floor once the wind velocity drops), or penetrate a short distance into it according to the relative values of fin spacing and particle size. These last are the most detrimental to exchanger performance. There is a critical particle size for which this penetration is maximal. A brief non-dimensional geometrical analysis allows one to predict this critical size range for any finned exchanger. It has been found to be between 0.5–0.7 times the diameter of the largest sphere that can be inscribed between the fins. Confirmation of this was found with a second exchanger. The addition of humid conditions within the tunnel or on the exchanger itself did not modify these values. Subtracting the pressure drop due to the clean exchanger from the total measured value confirms that the foulant acts like an extra mechanical filter in series with the exchanger. This is quite understandable given the short penetration length of the particles (up to 3 mm). Finally, the effects of a closed wind tunnel test section on the measurements for non-isothermal conditions in the exchanger are discussed.