Does a Blygold coating affect the thermal resistance of a heat exchanger?
Yes, no matter what others may tell you, every corrosion protection system has an effect on thermal resistance. This is due to the fact that no coating on the market today has the same heat conductive capacity as pure metals such as aluminum and copper. To what extent a coating will affect the heat transfer depends on the type of coating, heat exchanger geometry, air velocity etc. Blygold coatings are heat conductive and applied at a very thin layer thickness. This results in a minimal influence on the thermal resistance and minimal pressure drop. Tests of Blygold coatings have shown influences ranging from 0 to 12% depending on face air velocity and coil geometry. Installations with existing corrosion problems after renovation with Blygold coatings show an improved heat exchange capacity. For normal situations we recommend using 3% as an average capacity loss.
