Fouling characteristics of MgO particles under subcooled flow boiling

In order to investigate the particulate fouling characteristics, experiments of water based magnesia particulate suspensions were carried out in an annular test section under subcooled flow boiling. The sizes of magnesia particles were 40 nm and 10 μm, respectively. The influence of particle concentration, heat flux, mass flow rate and inlet temperature on fouling resistance were investigated, and the Chilton-Colburn analogy was applied to analyze the fouling process. The results show that the asymptotic value of fouling resistance increases with the increase of particle concentration. The asymptotic value of fouling resistance tends to fall when mass flow rate increases. As inlet temperature increases, there will be an obvious drop in the asymptotic value of fouling resistance. Regarding to heat flux, opposite variation trend was found between nano and micro-magnesia particles when changing the heat flux. Moreover, there is an obvious difference in asymptotical value of fouling resistance between nano-particles and micro-particles.