The failure of tube heat exchangers is an acute problem in industry and, in most cases, is due to the solid particle erosion of a few tubes. Identifying the critical erosion surfaces and thereafter changing the particle impingement pattern on the surfaces is one of the solutions to increase the lifetime of heat exchangers. In this work the fluid flow, solid particle motion and metal erosion of different two-pass copper-tube heat exchangers were simulated with a refined model and the sophisticated RANS-SST approach. The results showed the importance of the model in capturing the asymmetrical flow, uneven fluid distribution through tube bundle and other flow features for better erosion prediction. The erosion characteristics of three heat exchangers were compared to evaluate their structure with respect to producing low erosion. The simulations provided basic data for identifying the critical areas and damage locations of each heat exchanger. It was found that the particle separation in the inlet header altered the critical erosion locations but did not significantly affect the erosion rate. Theerosion rates at critical areas were also predicted. The results can be applied for predicting the service life and improving the structure of tube heat exchangers.

管式换热器的故障在工业上是一个严重的问题，在大多数情况下，是由于一些管的固体颗粒腐蚀所致。识别临界腐蚀表面并随后改变表面上的颗粒撞击模式是增加热交换器寿命的解决方案之一。在这项工作中，使用改进的模型和复杂的RANS-SST方法模拟了不同的两遍铜管热交换器的流体流动，固体颗粒运动和金属腐蚀。结果表明，该模型对于捕获非对称流动，通过管束的不均匀流体分布以及其他流动特征以更好地进行侵蚀预测的重要性。比较了三个热交换器的腐蚀特性，以评估它们在产生低腐蚀方面的结构。该模拟提供了用于识别每个热交换器的关键区域和损坏位置的基本数据。发现入口集管中的颗粒分离改变了临界腐蚀位置，但没有显着影响腐蚀速率。还预测了关键区域的腐蚀率。该结果可用于预测使用寿命和改进管式换热器的结构。