Application of New Individual Condenser Tube Circulating Water Flow and Fouling Meter in Performance Monitoring and Troubleshooting: A Case Study Available to Purchase

Low cost, reliable and accurate real time measurement of individual tube condenser cooling water flow rate, cooling water outlet temperature and tube side fouling for the purpose of condenser performance monitoring and troubleshooting is presented. The importance and the effects of these parameters on condenser performance are well understood and periodically estimated using indirect measurements such as dye dilution testing to represent average tube circulating water velocities, distributed temperature sensors in waterboxes and differential pressure measurements between inlet and outlet waterboxes. These measurements, while useful, are not always effective to identify performance inhibiting issues quickly and accurately. This paper presents a cooperative study on the effects of circulating water flow and fouling and protective tube coatings for the purpose of condenser performance and monitoring improvement. The objective of the study was to evaluate new Circulating Water Flow and Fouling (CWFF) instrumentation [1], [2], [3] to evaluate impact of tube coating [4] on heat transfer and biofouling, and to examine the effect of other variables on on-going Microbiologically Influenced Corrosion (MIC) attack on the SS condenser tubes. However, in addition to providing useful information on the coated tubes, the study unveiled a number of other condenser performance related issues. Real-time in-situ circulating water flow and fouling data over an entire 1-year period will be presented that: • Correlates real-time flow measurements to fouling as it occurs; • Assists in the evaluation of different circulating water pump capacities and configurations; • Identifies flow stratification within the water box and identifies whether or not waterboxes are filled; • Evaluates the heat transfer coefficient differences between the coated and uncoated tubes; • Identifies other performance related findings.