Talk:Fouling

Limited scope
There are many other types of fouling that the article does not cover, like the fouling of a water filter, boat hull and a pipeline (not involved in heat exchanging). I've heard/seen it applied mostly to biological organisms that clog a system (like a water intake) or cause some other detrimental effect (boat hull fouling slows it down), and to a lesser extent, I have heard it applied to non-living contaminants. I think that the article should be expanded to include other types of fouling. -- Kjkolb 07:48, 14 November 2006 (UTC)

Fouling category needed?
Fouling science and engineering is an large, diverse, and important area. A "fouling" category may be needed.Stan J. Klimas 13:35, 21 July 2007 (UTC)
 * ✅ by the same user (Stan J. Klimas). Thank you. --Daniele Pugliesi (talk) 14:43, 16 December 2014 (UTC)

Definition
The first sentence defines fouling as: "Fouling refers to the accumulation of unwanted material on solid surfaces, most often in an aquatic environment."

I realize that fouling is a very general term, but is there a way to better define it? For instance, the build-up on metalworking raw materials is called scales, but I wouldn't define it as fouling. However, based on the above definition scales would qualify a fouling. Wizard191 (talk) 15:46, 15 November 2008 (UTC)


 * I tried to address your good observation by adding the following to the head: "Fouling is usually distinguished from other surface-growth phenomena in that it results in the impediment of the function of the component due to the presence of the fouling deposit on the surface." Stan J. Klimas (talk) 01:20, 5 December 2008 (UTC)
 * It's a start, however, I feel that it still doesn't quite hit it on the head, because my above example would still qualify. The scales on a metal ingot impede it from being extruded due to its presence on the surface. What about something along the lines of: "Fouling is distinguished from other types of build-up, because fouling occurs from deposits of matter into a surface. Other build-up may be due to chemical reactions with the surface (or any other example you can think of)." I'm not complete sure that's even true, but in the case of my example it's due to a chemical reaction between the air and the metal. Hopefully between the two of us we can figure it out. Wizard191 (talk) 02:04, 5 December 2008 (UTC)
 * Yes, typically it is exactly as you say (if I understood everything correctly): the material for fouling comes not from the surface itself but from the working fluid. However, this does not always distinguish fouling from other surface growth phenomena, e.g., see corrosion fouling in the article. Therefore, there are cases when distinguishing fouling from "other surface growth phenomena" may be a matter of perspective.
 * Returning to your original above example, it might be that one does not see metal working scale as a fouling phenomenon because the scale does not develop in service. The metal is a raw material, not yet a component.
 * I do not remember seeing literature that addresses your good point. Most specialists in the topic seems to take the approach "Horse is as everyone can see."
 * Please don't be shy to adjust the definition when you feel you can clarify. The worst what can happen is that somebody changes is back or that it mutates into yet something else :) Cheers.  Stan J. Klimas (talk) 16:31, 6 December 2008 (UTC)

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