Novel Antifouling Coatings for Heat Exchangers (FOULCOAT)

Keywords: heat exhanger, antifouling, surface treatment, PVD, PECVD.

Description

Heat exchangers are widely used in industries such as brewing, dairy and food processing. A problem for these heat exchangers is fouling due to the adhesion of both organic and inorganic materials on the steel walls. This results in reduced thermal transfer efficiency and increased energy costs. While anti-fouling surface treatments using toxic compounds have been used successfully, their application is increasingly restricted due to environmental as well as health and safety legislation. As a part of this EU funded MATERA programme, the role of the UCD group is to deposit a large range of metal nitride, carbide and oxide coatings using both PVD and PECVD techniques. The anti-fouling performance of these coatings is screened by project partners.

Contact details

Prof. Denis Dowling
Director UCD Surface Engineering
Email: (opens in a new window)denis.dowling@ucd.ie