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Economy and risk of cleaning brushes for heat exchangers
Author(s) -
Bader H.,
Benz R.
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
materials and corrosion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.487
H-Index - 55
eISSN - 1521-4176
pISSN - 0947-5117
DOI - 10.1002/1521-4176(200010)51:10<740::aid-maco740>3.0.co;2-r
Subject(s) - heat exchanger , materials science , physics , environmental engineering , mechanical engineering , nuclear chemistry , chemistry , composite material , environmental science , engineering
Heat exchangers should work for many years satisfying and by low lifecycle costs. Equipping the tubes with brushes for cleaning inside can help to reduce corrosion and costs. But an additional risk of corrosion arises by running a heat exchanger at low velocity of water, causing brushes being blocked. The minimum velocity of water required depends on thickness, number and oversize length of the bristles, temperature of water, inside diameter, surface and on the total length of the tubes. For example in tubes of 4 m length, ID 16 mm, 480 bristles D 0.15 mm at 16°C, the water velocity should be minimum 0.8 m/s. Shorter tubes, thicker bristles, more bristles, lower temperature or lower water velocity are a higher risk.