A general equation is developed which can be used to calculate the optimum number of times to clean a piece of heat exchange equipment. Input to the equation consists of the initial and final heat exchange operating efficiency for a given time period, the given time period, the cost of cleaning, the cost of down time, and the current energy cost. The cost of periodic chemical cleaning vs. the cost of operating a heat exchanger inefficienctly is compared using the equation. Example figures for operating costs are based on current fuel costs reported in units of $/MMBTU. Adjustment of fuel cost should be made, however, to provide more accurate comparisons based on specific conditions.

Subject
Costs, Materials, Outages, Restoration, Heat exchange, Constants, Corrosion losses, Heat, Equipment, Engineers, Maintenance, Fouling, Cleaning
© 1981 Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP). All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of AMPP. Positions and opinions advanced in this work are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of AMPP. Responsibility for the content of the work lies solely with the author(s).
1981
Association for Materials Protection and Performance (AMPP)
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