Fouling of heat transfer surfaces introduces a major uncertainty into the design and operation of heat transfer equipment. After a brief discussion on impact of fouling, we present and discuss a stochastic approach to the analysis of fouling models. In view of the performance indicator (U/Uc) of the heat exchangers, a maintenance strategy for planned maintenance schedules is presented. Various scenarios of reliability based maintenance strategy are introduced. The strategy is explained in terms of the scatter parameter ($α$) of the time-to-fouling distribution corresponding to a critical level of fouling, and the risk factor (p) representing the probability of tubes being fouled to a critical level after which a cleaning cycle is needed. In addition, the cost implications of the above mentioned strategy are explained and their impact on heat exchanger maintenance is highlighted.

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