Category: FOULING

Designing for applications using viscous oils is challenging. These fluids vary widely in viscosity, generally have a low Reynolds number, and can experience substantial flow maldistribution. To account for the resulting uncertainty, traditional thermal designs often include large fouling factors. This webinar identifies typical design issues and discusses the methods and...
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We begin this webinar with a definition of crude oil fouling and the difference between crude oil fouling and other types of fouling mechanisms. Following this review, we discuss fouling research at HTRI by describing the High Temperature Fouling Unit (HTFU), the research testing that we conduct, and the prediction models...
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HTRI currently runs fouling experiments on the High Temperature Fouling Unit (HTFU) which recirculates a 27 liter sample of crude for periods up to one month. As we plan to expand our crude oil fouling test program, we are investigating alternate test methods to screen crude oil fouling with smaller sample...
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HTRI’s recently acquired SmartPM™ software complements the HTRI fouling research program, and takes the understanding and management of crude oil fouling to the next level. SmartPM can be used by a wide range of engineers including: Process engineers evaluating current plant performance Planners allocating maintenance budgets for most cost-effective future cleaning...
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In 2013 HTRI commissioned the Rotating Fouling Unit (RFU). With its smaller volume, shorter run duration, and faster turnaround, the RFU serves as a screening device for the High Temperature Fouling Units (HTFU-1 and HTFU-2) and is ideal for fouling impact studies on specific variables. Initial fouling tests and fouling impact...
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Prepared under contract with HTRI, this report presents a comprehensive study on local crystallization fouling in double-pipe heat exchangers operating in counterflow. Results are based on fouling experiments with an aqueous calcium sulphate solution and with most flow velocities at 1.0 m/s. For local thermal fouling investigations, heat exchanger tubes were...
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A longstanding goal of the HTRI fouling program is to develop methods to predict the fouling tendency of a crude oil from its chemical and physical properties and the heat exchanger operating conditions. This report summarizes the characterizations HTRI has performed on most research crude oils with a brief explanation as to why...
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Obtaining viscosity measurements at elevated temperatures and pressures is challenging. HTRI evaluated several viscosity correlations to determine the best model for hydrocarbons. We also examined a viscosity-density correlation using limited density data. From the initial evaluation, the Walther model proved to be the most promising for extrapolation, predicting viscosity within ±30%...
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Corrosion inhibitors are often added to cooling tower water to prevent the corrosion of the various metallic elements of the cooling water system. These are effective in preventing corrosion; however, they can, under some circumstances, be the source of fouling in the heat exchangers. This report describes a three-year experimental study...
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Corrosion inhibitors are often added to cooling tower water to prevent the corrosion of the various metallic elements of the cooling water system. These are effective in preventing corrosion; however, they can, under some circumstances, be the source of fouling in heat exchangers. This report describes an experimental study at Oregon...
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Our ongoing analysis of the HTRI crude oil fouling data revealed an unacceptably high degree of scatter. A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the High Temperature Fouling Unit (HTFU) test section demonstrated that the flow over the heated portion was undeveloped and asymmetrical, resulting in wall shear stress variations of...
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