Comprehensive evaluation on deposition and heat transfer performance of the mixed tube bundle based on orthogonal experimental study

Deposition on heat exchange surfaces is an urgent problem to be solved to achieve efficient utilization of energy in thermal equipment. To mitigate deposition and the resultant heat attenuation, this work proposes a mixed tube bundle strategy of inserting attached cylinders behind the tube bundle, which can effectively meet the design requirements of high anti-deposition performance, high heat transfer efficiency, and low flow resistance. An integrated dynamic model for deposition is developed to elucidate the effect of ash particles on deposition, flow, and heat transfer characteristics. Based on the inverse distance weighting interpolation, a dynamic mesh smoothing technique is employed to simulate the evolving deposition layer on the heat transfer surface. In addition, the L₁₆(4³) orthogonal experimental design method is adopted to study the influence of the arrangement angle, diameter, and distance to the primary bundle of the attached cylinder on the overall performance, and determine the optimal scheme. The results show that deposition in the cases using the mixed tube bundle strategy has significantly decreased. The weakening effects of the attached cylinder on the deposition of small-medium particles and large-sized particles are due to the inhibition of vortex development in the gap of tube bundle and the deviation of the motion trajectory, respectively. The novel design exhibits the lowest deposition mass M_dep = 1.12 g and the best comprehensive performance PEC = 1.14 under the condition of the arrangement angle of 50°, the diameter of 10 mm, and the distance between the primary bundle of 5 mm. The obtained results can provide reference schemes and guidance for the optimization of the design of heat exchange equipment and accessory devices.