W H I T E P A P E R
11
Fouling of Heat Exchangers
Video 11 shows a study performed by Sub-Zero [3]. Rocky DEM was used combined with Ansys
Fluent to understand heat exchanger robustness to fouling. This understanding is important in
that it gives Sub-Zero more freedom to design more compact refrigerating systems with higher
energy efficiency and carefree products.
In this case, the cotton linter fibers were modeled using flexible fibers. The fluid forces were
taken into account using Rocky's one-way coupling with Ansys Fluent, and an adhesion model
was added to mimic the electrostatic force acting on the fibers.
Pet Hair Vacuum Cleaner
Video 12 below shows a study performed by BISSELL [4] of a pet hair vacuum cleaner. Their
goals were to evaluate the performance of geometric design variations, and to reduce the cost
of new prototypes and experimental testing.
The simulation shows a one-way DEM-CFD coupled simulation of a large number of pet
hair strands inside a vacuum cleaner, depicting behaviors such as flexibility and inter-fiber
interactions. The hair strands were modeled using flexible fibers with different diameters,
and the fluid field, obtained in Ansys Fluent, was taken into account when solving the particle
trajectory inside this multi-cyclonic device.
Video 11. Understanding fouling on heat exchangers using flexible fibers to model cotton linter fibers.
If you want more details, you can access the full case study here.
