An Improved Modeling Method of Water-side Fouling in Enhanced Tubes of Condensers in Application of Cooling Water Tower

Kern-Seaton fouling model of enhanced tubes and two parameters that foulant sticking probability (P) and deposit bond strength factor (ξ) in that model are analyzed theoretically. A new modeling method of fouling in enhanced tubes is proposed, which has physical meaning and a higher accuracy in comparison to traditional ones. A semi-theoretical model of fouling in internal helical-rib tubes is developed in this paper based on the long-term fouling data, targeting to improve previous fouling models. This new fouling model has three variables: area index, j-factor ratio and friction factor ratio. This triple-variable model has a maximum deviation of 5.20% and an average deviation of 1.87%, indicating a higher accuracy than previous ones. The mathematical type of this new model is in accordance with the theoretic deduction, thus makes sense in theory compared with old ones. It is also found that all current fouling models without the correction of heat transfer area index (β) have the biggest deviation when predicting the fouling resistance of enhanced tubes with p/e around 3.5, but which can be reduced by introducing the area index into the model. The new modeling method presented in this paper has outstanding advantages in modeling fouling of enhanced tubes, thus can be used in future fouling research.