Fouling is the accumulation of unwanted material on heat transfer surfaces, which introduces an additional thermal resistance and degrades the performance of a heat exchanger. This fouling resistance ([latex]R_f[/latex]) reduces the overall heat transfer coefficient (U). The effect is quantified in the overall heat transfer equation: [latex]\frac{1}{U} = \frac{1}{h_i} + \frac{1}{h_o} + R_f + R_w[/latex].

















