Obtaining data heat exchanger performance

There are in general, two ways in which plant data on fouling may be directly obtained. They involve an assessment of heat exchanger performance and the use of a side stream of process fluid. The use of probes may provide an indirect method of fouling evaluation. 

An improvement on the assessment of individual heat exchanger performance is to pass a sidestream through some kind of monitor. In general monitors resemble the test equipment used in the laboratory. The use of monitors allows a more careful control of the fouling conditions to be exercised particularly in terms of temperature, temperature changes and flow rates, using actual plant streams. The data obtained are more reliable than those obtained directly from the operation of full scale plant. 

---