CFD Modeling of Fouling in Crude Oil Refinery Heat Exchangers: Effect on Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow

The complex phenomenon of crude oil fouling costs millions of dollars in maintenance for refineries per year, globally. The equipment which is affected the most is crude oil pre-heat exchangers.  Fouling increases the fuel requirement, compromises the heat recovery, causes undesirable production line shutdowns and other safety concerns. It is important to have an approach to determine the degree of fouling in heat exchangers, and monitor their health. This paper focuses on the use of CFD modeling to get a good estimate of fouling inside crude oil heat exchangers.   CFD analysis will also show how the fouling particles are deposited on the surfaces, decreasing the heat transfer and creating higher pressure drop in the system.