Particulate Fouling and Challenges of Metal Foam Heat Exchangers

ABSTRACT

In recent years, open-cell metal foam has gained attention for utilization for exhaust gas recirculation coolers due to its large surface area and porous structure. Theoretically, the porous foam structure would have better transfer heat through conduction and convection processes. However, the exhaust gases that enter the cooler would carry particulate matter, which may deposit within the foam structure. The existing fouling studies cannot explain the underlying mechanisms of particulate deposition thoroughly within the foam structure. This study reviews the particulate fouling of heat exchangers, particularly in the exhaust gas recirculation system. Some past approaches to investigate fouling, particle transport, and deposition in the metal foam heat exchangers for many different applications are also included. In addition, this study also includes the challenges that lie ahead in implementing the metal foam heat exchangers in the industries.

Funding

The authors gratefully thank the financial support of the Australian Research Council (ARC).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fadhilah Shikh Anuar

Fadhilah Shikh Anuar is a Ph.D. student in the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering, at the University of Queensland, Australia, under the supervision of Dr. Kamel Hooman and Dr. Mohammad Reza Malayeri. She is currently working on the fluid flow and fouling in metal foam heat exchangers. She received a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Putrajaya, Malaysia, in 2008, and a master's degree in engineering from the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2011. She is also one of the academics in the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka, Malaysia.

M. Reza Malayeri

M. Reza Malayeri is the head of the fouling and cleaning in process industries research group at the Institute of Thermodynamics and Thermal Engineering, University of Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany. His research work covers a wide range of topics related to heat and mass transfer, multiphase flow, numerical modeling, enhanced heat transfer, and heat exchanger fouling and mitigation, and he is the author of more than 110 articles. He is also a member of the editorial board of several journals, including Heat Transfer Engineering.

Kamel Hooman

Kamel Hooman is a reader in the School of Mechanical and Mining Engineering at the University of Queensland. He spent some time in industry and academia before he started his Ph.D. He is the director of the Queensland Geothermal Energy Centre of Excellence and has a strong research record in the field of heat transfer and energy using theoretical, numerical, and experimental techniques. He has co-authored 125 refereed journal and about 50 conference papers, as well as contributing to a number of books. He serves on the editorial boards of Heat Transfer Engineering, International Journal of Exergy, Energies, Special Topics and Reviews in Porous Media, and Journal of Porous Media. He is the recipient of awards/fellowships from the Australian Research Council, Australian Academy of Science, Confucius Institute, and NSF-China, and has held visiting researcher/professor positions in Tianjin University, University of Malaya, University of Ecole Centrale Paris Padova, and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.