Patent Number: 052157040
Section: claims

1. A method of determining the extent of fouling in a heat exchanger including a plurality of tubes, the tubes of said heat exchanger being fouled to some degree, said method comprising the steps of: connecting a test reservoir to an inlet port and an outlet port of one of said tubes, said one of said tubes remaining in place in said heat exchanger;  circulating a service fluid from said test reservoir through said one of said tubes;  altering the heat content of said service fluid in said test reservoir; and  detecting (a) the temperature of said service fluid at the respective ends of said tube, (b) the flow rate of said service fluid, and (c) the temperature of a process fluid on the outside of said tube;  using the values of said items (a), (b) and (c) to compute a heat transfer efficiency for said one of said tubes;  using the heat transfer efficiency of said one of said tubes to determine the extent of fouling of the tubes in said heat exchanger.  a heat exchanger for removing heat from a heated fluid in the event of an accident in said nuclear power plant, said heat exchanger comprising a plurality of tubes, said heat exchanger transferring a substantially lower quantity of heat when said nuclear power plant is in normal operation than said heat exchanger is required to transfer in the event of an accident in said nuclear power plant;  apparatus conducting a test to determine the extent of fouling of said heat exchanger, said apparatus comprising; 2. The method of claim 1, said method being used to determine the extent of fouling of a heat exchanger in a nuclear power plant, said heat exchanger being intended to remove heat from said process fluid in the event of an accident in said nuclear power plant, said heat exchanger transferring a substantially lower quantity of heat when said nuclear power plant is in normal operation than said heat exchanger is required to transfer in the event of an accident in said nuclear power plant. 3. The method of claim 1 comprising the step of determining the fouling resistance (r.sub.f) of said one of said tubes. 4. A method of determining the extent of fouling of a heat exchanger comprising performing the method of claim 1 on a plurality but substantially less than all of the tubes in a heat exchanger. 5. The method of claim 4 comprising performing the method of claim 1 on at least six tubes but less than 10% of the total number of tubes in said heat exchanger. 6. The method of claim 5 wherein said tubes are selected randomly. 7. A combination in a nuclear power plant, said combination comprising: 8. The arrangement of claim 7 comprising a computer, said detection means being connected to said computer. 9. The arrangement of claim 7 wherein said means for exchanging the heat content of said service fluid comprises a heater. 10. The arrangement of claim 7 wherein said means for exchanging the heat content of said service fluid comprises a chiller. 11. The arrangement of claim 7 wherein said service fluid and said process fluid are liquids. 12. The arrangement of claim 7 wherein said apparatus is configured so as to be disconnected from said test exchanger when said test has been completed.