Investigating the effect of nanocoating on fouling in the plate heat exchanger: a computational fluid dynamics study

Plate heat exchangers (PHEs) are widely used in chemical plants for cooling, and their performance typically deteriorates due to fouling formation. To address the operational lifetime of PHEs under fouling conditions and determine optimal repair time, a virtual framework is required to function as a digital twin. This study investigates the application of a vinyl acetate copolymer nano-coating on PHEs to reduce the fouling thickness of CaCO₃ using a Multiphysics simulation approach. The novelty of this work lies in the development of a numerical framework capable of accurately forecasting optimal repair times before the system's efficiency declines. The results reveal that nanocoating reduces the thermal resistance and the fouling thickness by 65.77% and 58.8%, respectively, compared to the uncoated sample. The proposed framework accurately determines the thermodynamic behaviour of the PHE as a digital twin and predicts the appropriate time for its repair or replacement.