Predicting tubular heat exchanger efficiency reduction caused by marine biofilm adhesion using CFD simulations

Abstract

A novel efficiency reduction model to tubular heat exchanger based on heat transfer losses by biofilm adhesion is proposed, which included a modified equation based on the real data-dependent time, seawater, hydrodynamics and heat transfer resistance using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The biofilm growth model based on Verhulst model and experimental data has been obtained and simulated in a CFD software tool to analyze the tubular heat exchanger performance prediction cooled by seawater. The biofilm CFD model with appropriate fit, and the correlation coefficient (R2) values are between 0.97 and 0.99, was validated by experimental data obtained at different flow velocity. The final results of in/outlet difference temperatures were from 3.9 °C to 2.2 °C for different flow velocity with R2 > 0.97. The simulation results demonstrate that the novel CFD model is capable of predicting the efficiency losses during the development period of biofilm growth in in open-loop cooling seawater systems.

Keywords:

• Biofilm
• heat exchanger
• CFD
• seawater
• heat transfer resistance

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness (project EUIN2017-89002).