Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Morphology, as a science that describes the shape and structure of fouling, is a key component of a comprehensive evaluation of fouling. It also serves as a perspective in deepening the understanding of fouling mechanisms. Nevertheless, a standardized morphological evaluation system of fouling has not yet been established. This study takes exhaust gas recirculation cooler fouling as the research object, for the first time, reviews the progress in morphology over the past 25 years, and then proposes the evaluation system. These findings show that the methods used to evaluate fouling morphology can be classified into visual inspection, optical microscope, digital microscope, surface profiler, scanning electron microscope, and transmission electron microscope. The observation scale decreases from macroscopic to mesoscopic, microscopic, and nanoscopic. The evaluation categories may include attributes such as color, glossiness, wetness, softness, densification, roughness, fragmentation, connection method, orderliness, and more. Defining and categorizing, integrating full scale, developing quantifiable parameters, and reinforcing the full process for fouling should be further deepened.
Source: Heat Transfer Engineering
Authors: Yipeng Yao, Zhiqiang Han, Wei Tian, Liping Luo, Jiawei Ding, Bomin Su, Marie-Eve Duprez, Guy De Weireld
Language: English
Subfield: Mechanical Engineering
Field: Engineering
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W4410237204