Qualification of aluminum for OTEC heat exchangers
The basis for qualification of aluminum as a material for use as tubing in Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion heat exchangers is reviewed. Reference is made to compendia of data from tests of aluminum alloys in natural sea water and to applicable service records. Data from these sources were found to be inadequate to either qualify or disqualify aluminum. They serve only to identify the 5052 alloy and Alclad 3003 or 3004 as being worthy of additional testing under conditions more directly related to what will be encountered in OTEC heat exchangers. The principal deficiency of data from long-time tests in natural sea water is that in almost all of these tests the specimens were exposed under static conditions that caused the surfaces to be covered by marine fouling organisms that would not be present in heat exchanger tubes. The tests did not take into account possible effects of periodic mechanical or chemical treatments to remove fouling or chemical treatments (chlorination) to prevent fouling. A current testing program sponsored by the Department of Energy through Argonne National Laboratory is designed to provide the needed data. Limited tests in high velocity sea water have indicated that aluminum tubes would tolerate the velocities under 10 ft (3 m) per second likely to be used in OTEC heat exchangers.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 6399500
- Report Number(s):
- ANL/OTEC-BCM-003
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
14 SOLAR ENERGY
140800* -- Solar Energy-- Ocean Energy Systems
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360105 -- Metals & Alloys-- Corrosion & Erosion
ALLOYS
ALUMINIUM
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
AMMONIA
ANTIFOULANTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHLORINATION
CLEANING
CORROSION
CORROSION FATIGUE
CORROSION RESISTANCE
CORROSIVE EFFECTS
ELECTROCHEMICAL CORROSION
ELEMENTS
FATIGUE
FRETTING CORROSION
HALOGENATION
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LEAKS
MATERIALS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
METALS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
OCEAN THERMAL POWER PLANTS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POWER PLANTS
SEAWATER
SOLAR POWER PLANTS
TUBES
WATER
140800* -- Solar Energy-- Ocean Energy Systems
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
360105 -- Metals & Alloys-- Corrosion & Erosion
ALLOYS
ALUMINIUM
ALUMINIUM ALLOYS
AMMONIA
ANTIFOULANTS
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
CHLORINATION
CLEANING
CORROSION
CORROSION FATIGUE
CORROSION RESISTANCE
CORROSIVE EFFECTS
ELECTROCHEMICAL CORROSION
ELEMENTS
FATIGUE
FRETTING CORROSION
HALOGENATION
HEAT EXCHANGERS
HYDRIDES
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LEAKS
MATERIALS
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
METALS
NITROGEN COMPOUNDS
NITROGEN HYDRIDES
OCEAN THERMAL POWER PLANTS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
POWER PLANTS
SEAWATER
SOLAR POWER PLANTS
TUBES
WATER