Inorganic fouling of heat transfer surface from potable water during convective heat transfer

In this work, inorganic fouling of the heat transfer surfaces from potable water has been studied using a once-through flow cell to visualize and follow the deposition processes. The effects of surface material and flow rate on the amount and morphology of deposits have been investigated. The scale which formed on surfaces mainly consists of two distinct regions; smooth and flat layer and a rough calcium carbonate layer. It also revealed that the scaling tendency on copper and aluminium is much greater than on stainless steel. Finally, the complex effect of flow rate on scale formation is also discussed.