🔍 Key Concepts

• Relationship between flow rate, velocity, and pressure drop in a heat exchanger tube bundle • Difference between waterside problems (tube side) and steam-side problems (shell side) in a feed water heater • Effect of steam-side conditions (fouling, non-condensables) on heat transfer and condensate behavior vs. effect on waterside pressure drop

💭 Think About

• If the pressure drop increase is not caused by a waterside obstruction, what waterside factor is left that can still raise pressure drop? • Which choices describe conditions on the water side versus conditions on the steam side of the heater? • How would non‑condensable gases or steam‑side fouling change temperature and heat transfer, and would they significantly change the water pressure drop across the heater?

✅ Before You Answer

• Identify which options clearly refer to waterside (tube-side) conditions and which refer to steam-side (shell-side) conditions • Recall that pressure drop in piping or tubes increases roughly with the square of flow velocity • Confirm that steam-side issues mainly show up as temperature/heat transfer problems, not as a large increase in waterside pressure drop