Fouling phenomena, generally related to heavy crude oils and bituminous petroleum fractions, nevertheless affects significantly the preheat train (PHT) of the light Algerian crude oil. In this study, a two dimensional model was developed using the computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method in order to investigate fouling behavior in the PHT of Algiers refinery. A fouling model was proposed specifically for the studied crude oil. The model includes a pseudo detailed chemical kinetic mechanism and it considers the deposition of inorganic matters. The proposed model was validated using the experimental results from literature. The simulation results show good agreements with the experimental data. The deposition mechanism of the two fouling routes was studied by analyzing the effect of flow velocity on the thermo-hydraulic conditions of near wall regions. The results indicate that the chemical reaction fouling is controlled by kinetic reaction process and the deposition of inorganic species is dominated by mass diffusion. The distribution of the initial fouling rate was evaluated along the entire heat exchangers network. The simulation results show that the inorganic process was predominant at the first heat exchanger and the chemical reaction fouling reaches its maximum at the PHT outlet.

结垢现象通常与重质原油和沥青石油馏分有关，但仍会严重影响轻质阿尔及利亚原油的预热列车（PHT）。在这项研究中，使用计算流体动力学（CFD）方法开发了二维模型，以研究阿尔及尔炼油厂PHT中的结垢行为。专门针对所研究的原油提出了结垢模型。该模型包括一个伪详细的化学动力学机理，并考虑了无机物的沉积。利用文献的实验结果验证了所提出的模型。仿真结果与实验数据吻合良好。通过分析流速对近壁区域热工水力条件的影响，研究了两种结垢途径的沉积机理。结果表明，化学反应结垢是由动力学反应过程控制的，而无机物类的沉积则受质量扩散的控制。沿整个热交换器网络评估了初始结垢率的分布。模拟结果表明，在第一个换热器中，无机过程占主导地位，化学反应结垢在PHT出口达到最大。沿整个热交换器网络评估了初始结垢率的分布。模拟结果表明，在第一个换热器中，无机过程占主导地位，化学反应结垢在PHT出口达到最大。沿整个热交换器网络评估了初始结垢率的分布。模拟结果表明，在第一个换热器中，无机过程占主导地位，化学反应结垢在PHT出口达到最大。