02-06: Designed to Fail (Heat Exchanger Designs that Lead to Failure)

Root cause investigations of failures in heat exchangers that are used in cooling water service often reveal that design conditions were a major contributor to the failure. This paper will review several of the most commonly encountered design problems and show how they inevitably lead to severe corrosion and/or fouling. Examples will be used to illustrate design failures. Guidelines will be suggested on heat exchanger design methods to minimize the potential for future failures.