The excessive mineral contents in water circulation systems could cause severe fouling in heat transfer equipment. The present study investigated the effect of underwater pulsed spark discharges on the mitigation of mineral fouling in a concentric counterflow heat exchanger. Artificial hard water with calcium carbonate hardness of 250 mg/L was used with velocity ranging from 0.1 m/s to 0.5 m/s and zero blowdown. Fouling resistances decreased by 50–72% for the plasma treated cases compared with the values for no-treatment cases, indicating that the pulsed spark discharge could significantly mitigate the mineral fouling on the heat exchanger surface.

Issue Section:
Technical Briefs
Keywords:
heat exchangers, plasma materials processing, plasma transport processes, sparks, physical water treatment, plasma, heat exchanger, mineral fouling
Topics:
Heat exchangers, Minerals, Plasmas (Ionized gases), Water, Flow (Dynamics), Heat transfer, Gas discharge (Electric discharge)
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 by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
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