Numerical analysis of CaCO3 deposition effects on heat exchanger thermal performanceShow others and affiliations
2026 (English)In: Results in Engineering (RINENG), ISSN 2590-1230, Vol. 30, article id 110737Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Fouling on heating surfaces significantly reduces the thermal efficiency of heat exchangers and increases energy losses. This study investigates a microtube heat exchanger designed for lithium-ion battery water cooling systems. A numerical investigation is conducted using the Eulerian-Lagrangian approach to evaluate the degradation of thermal performance and energy loss caused by the deposition of submicron particles on heating surfaces. The study considers laminar flow in a pipe with a constant surface heat flux. The discrete element method is employed to model particle deposition dynamics, and the coupled simulations of fluid flow and heat transfer are performed using OpenFOAM. The results indicate that the Nusselt number (Nu) decreases by up to 55%. As the deposited particle volume ratio increases, Nu reduces significantly to a value of 2.5, beyond which the reduction follows an asymptotic trend. Additionally, an empirical correlation between Nu and the friction factor has been developed, providing a reliable predictive tool for evaluating the heat exchanger performance under scaling conditions. These findings offer valuable insights into mitigating fouling effects and minimizing performance losses due to fouling.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Elsevier BV , 2026. Vol. 30, article id 110737
Keywords [en]
CFD-DEM, Heat exchanger, Thermal performance, Fouling, CFD analysis, Porous media, CaCO3 deposition
National Category
Energy Engineering
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:mdh:diva-77167DOI: 10.1016/j.rineng.2026.110737ISI: 001776256600001Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-105038402628OAI: oai:DiVA.org:mdh-77167DiVA, id: diva2:2065561
2026-06-032026-06-032026-06-03Bibliographically approved