Heat Exchangers Assessments

Testing and maintenance to ensure that all heat exchangers in a plant or building are performing to the prescribed heat transfer rates, should be undertaken periodically. As most service fluids including cooling tower water and boiler water, contain some contaminants, the performance of a heat exchanger can deteriorate slowly over time. This can be due to contaminants building up on the heat transfer surfaces within the heat exchanger, which is known as fouling.

As the fouling or scale builds up slowly within the heat exchanger, often over months or years, the corresponding reduction in heat transfer rate can be almost imperceptible. Obviously, a heat exchanger that ends up performing at 70% of its design after 2 years, can cause problems in the HVAC and building services or in the production areas of a manufacturing plant.

Teralba offer a Heat Exchanger Optimization Test which can be carried out on site on both tubular and plate heat exchangers, without downtime or breaking into the hot or cold flow-paths. This test provides data to check on the actual performance of the heat exchanger against the design heat load. If the heat exchanger is not performing as per the heat transfer calculations, then the unit may need cleaning (LINK to REPAIR & REPLACEMENT) and an on-going preventative maintenance (LINK) program can be implemented. This will ensure the heat exchanger is always working at peak efficiency.