Re-Thinking the Design of Closed-Loop Cooling Stations to Mitigate Fouling.
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| Title: | Re-Thinking the Design of Closed-Loop Cooling Stations to Mitigate Fouling. |
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| Authors: | Kockum, Henrik1 (AUTHOR) henrik.kockum@alfalaval.com |
| Source: | Heat Transfer Engineering. 2026, Vol. 47 Issue 11/12, p1067-1075. 9p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Heat exchanger fouling, *Heat exchangers, *Cooling systems, *Maintenance costs, *Operating costs |
| Abstract: | Parallel heat exchangers in closed-loop cooling stations are typically designed identical. Such a design strategy has some benefits such as simplified design and construction, as well as the possibility to cannibalize spare parts. In some applications, such as datacenter or district cooling, the required cooling capacity is time-dependent, e.g., over the day or season. Hence, the station will recurringly operate at part load with lower-than-design flow rates. Part load is often met by reducing the number of heat exchangers in service but the difference to design velocity may still be large. This increases the rate of fouling on the cold side of the station. If instead the cooling station is designed with non-equal heat exchanger capacities, there will be more station capacities to access when following a varying cooling requirement, thus increasing the possibility to operate close to design velocity, limiting the rate of fouling. This numerical study shows that such a design approach may reduce cleaning cost by up to 40%, and a combined cleaning and pumping cost due to fouling with 15%–20%. Designing the heat exchangers of a cooling station with different capacities only requires a new way of thinking for the heat exchanger provider and should thus be possible to offer today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Database: | Energy & Power Source |
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| Abstract: | Parallel heat exchangers in closed-loop cooling stations are typically designed identical. Such a design strategy has some benefits such as simplified design and construction, as well as the possibility to cannibalize spare parts. In some applications, such as datacenter or district cooling, the required cooling capacity is time-dependent, e.g., over the day or season. Hence, the station will recurringly operate at part load with lower-than-design flow rates. Part load is often met by reducing the number of heat exchangers in service but the difference to design velocity may still be large. This increases the rate of fouling on the cold side of the station. If instead the cooling station is designed with non-equal heat exchanger capacities, there will be more station capacities to access when following a varying cooling requirement, thus increasing the possibility to operate close to design velocity, limiting the rate of fouling. This numerical study shows that such a design approach may reduce cleaning cost by up to 40%, and a combined cleaning and pumping cost due to fouling with 15%–20%. Designing the heat exchangers of a cooling station with different capacities only requires a new way of thinking for the heat exchanger provider and should thus be possible to offer today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 01457632 |
| DOI: | 10.1080/01457632.2025.2502219 |
