Heat Exchanger Performance & Troubleshooting

Heat exchangers can remain in operation while gradually losing thermal and hydraulic performance, making developing problems difficult to recognize until they begin affecting production, energy consumption, pressure drop, or equipment availability. Fouling, flow restrictions, leakage, poor distribution, temperature changes, vibration, and operating conditions can produce similar symptoms, and cleaning or repairing the exchanger without identifying the actual source of deterioration may provide only temporary improvement.

Boost Consulting & Training offers this course to develop a practical engineering approach to evaluating and troubleshooting industrial heat exchanger performance. Participants examine heat-transfer behavior, exchanger configurations, temperature and flow relationships, pressure drop, fouling, leakage, vibration, and operating data. Practical cases focus on comparing expected and actual performance, isolating thermal, hydraulic, and mechanical causes, and selecting engineering actions that restore effective exchanger operation.

The main concept of this course is to diagnose heat exchanger problems by connecting thermal performance, fluid behavior, mechanical condition, and operating evidence rather than treating individual symptoms in isolation.

• Explain the operating principles of common industrial heat exchanger configurations.
• Evaluate the relationships between temperature, flow, heat duty, and exchanger performance.
• Interpret key operating data to identify performance deterioration.
• Assess pressure-drop problems and abnormal flow conditions.
• Identify fouling mechanisms and their impact on exchanger operation.
• Diagnose leakage, vibration, and other mechanical performance problems.
• Distinguish thermal, hydraulic, mechanical, and operational causes of poor performance.
• Apply structured troubleshooting to restore and optimize heat exchanger operation.