Effects of vapor pressure/velocity and concentration on condensation heat transfer for steam–ethanol vapor mixture

When a steam–ethanol vapor mixture condenses on a vertical flat plate, the form of the condensate film changes and many drops are created. This non-film condensation is called pseudo-dropwise or Marangoni condensation. This paper aims to study the main influencing factors on the Marangoni condensation of steam–ethanol vapor.The factors include the ethanol concentration, vapor pressure, vapor velocity and vapor-to-surface temperature difference. The experiments show that the heat transfer coefficient has a maximum value of approximately 42 kW/m² K when the ethanol concentration is 1%. At the low concentrations of 0.5, 1, 5.1 and 9.8%, the condensation heat transfer is greater than for pure steam. In addition, the heat transfer for all vapor mixtures increases with both the rise of vapor pressure and vapor velocity.     

One dimensional numerical simulation for steady annular condensation flow in rectangular microchannels

A one dimensional model for steady annular condensation flow in rectangular microchannels is developed and numerically solved under constant heat flux condition. The results indicate that the annular condensation length is determined by the contact angle, heat flux, vapor pressure, hydraulic diameter and aspect ratio of rectangular microchannels. A larger inlet vapor pressure and hydraulic diameter or a smaller heat flux and contact angle can all result in a longer annular condensation length. In addition, the simulation results of steady annular condensation flow in rectangular microchannels are compared with that in triangular microchannels. The differences in curvature radius, condensate pressure and velocity, vapor velocity distributions in rectangular and triangular microchannels under the same conditions verify the considerable influence of cross-section shape on micro flow condensation.     

Experimental investigation on heat transfer of forced convection condensation of ethanol–water vapor mixtures on a vertical mini-tube

In this paper, condensation heat transfer characteristics of ethanol–water vapor mixtures on a vertical mini-vertical tube with 1.221 mm outside diameter were investigated experimentally. The experiments were performed at different velocities and pressures over a wide range of ethanol mass fractions in vapor. The test results indicated that, with respect to the change of the vapor-to-surface temperature difference, the condensation curves of the heat transfer coefficients revealed nonlinear characteristics, and had peak values. At 2 % ethanol mass fraction in vapor, the condensation heat transfer coefficient value of the ethanol–water vapor mixture was found to have a maximum heat transfer coefficient of 50 kW m^?2 K^?1, which was 3–4 times than that of pure steam. The condensation heat transfer coefficients decreased with increased ethanol mass fraction in vapor. The vapor pressure and vapor velocity had a positive effect on the condensation heat transfer coefficients of ethanol–water vapor mixtures.     

Experimental studies of a hygroscopic condenser-evaporator heat exchanger based on concentration differences of vertically falling films

A concentration-driven power cycle motivated by differences in vapor partial pressures (boiling point rise) and latent heats of brine and water is studied. The condensation of relatively low-pressure, low-temperature vapor occurs on the free interface of a relatively hot falling film of a hygroscopic salt solution due to the reduced vapor pressure of the brine. The heat released is transferred to the evaporating/cooling water film on the other side of a vertical plate separating the brine and water films. The process is maintained because the latent heat of condensation on the brine film is higher than the latent heat of evaporation of pure water. The condensation driving force is the difference between the partial pressure of condensing water vapor and that of water in the brine solution. The simultaneous mass and heat transfer mechanisms associated with this nonisothermal absorption can occur even against an opposing thermal driving force in the condensing vapor phase. Complementing earlier studies by the same authors, a vertical film-type condenser-evaporator heat exchanger is considered. The experimental study deals with the effects of the various parameters involved in this rather unique process and the mechanisms that control them. The experimental results prove the potential of operating this new heat transfer modality and provide the background for the theoretical determination of the optimal performance of this direct-contact power cycle.     

Heat and mass transfer in direct contact hygroscopic condensation

A theoretical analysis of direct contact hygroscopic-condensation of cold vapor on hot films is presented. The condensation of the relatively low temperature, low pressure, vapors on a hot film of an hygroscopic brine solution may occur due to the reduced vapor pressure of a sufficiently concentrated solution. The driving force for condensation is the difference between the partial pressure of water in the brine and the partial pressure of the condensing water vapor. The condensation is also governed by simultaneous mass transfer mechanisms, due to a non-isothermal absorption, with a possible opposing thermal driving force in the condensing vapor phase. The overall performance is determined by the accumulating effects of the various resistances to heat and mass transfer. The present study is aimed to elucidate the controlling mechanisms associated with this absorption-condensation process, and suggest overall transfer rates at the laminar and turbulent flow regimes.     

Experimental investigation of Marangoni condensation of ethanol–water mixture vapors on vertical tube

The heat transfer characteristics of the condensation of ethanol–water binary vapor on vertical tubes with the pipe diameter of 10 mm were investigated experimentally. The results showed that, with the change of the vapor-to-surface temperature difference, the condensation heat transfer coefficients revealed nonlinear characteristics with peak values under a wide variety of operating conditions. With the increasing pressure or velocity of the vapor, the heat transfer coefficients increased subsequently. The effect of vapor pressure or velocity on heat transfer coefficients reduced with the increasing ethanol mass fraction. It was noteworthy that, under low ethanol mass fractions (0.5–2%), the heat transfer coefficients augmented significantly, were about 5–8 times greater than that of pure steam. The comparison for different test blocks indicated that the condensation heat transfer coefficients for different pipe diameters were about the same value under the same operating condition. Significant heat transfer enhancement by Marangoni condensation could be achieved for full range of pipe diameter used in industrial condensers.     

One-dimensional water vapor expansion with condensation at higher pressures

Numerical calculation of nucleating water vapor flow through a nozzle at high pressure is presented. Contrary to the classical approach which takes into account only latent heat release due to condensation, the vapor phase removal and change of vapor structure has also been taken into account. This more general treatment of condensing vapor is needed when the influence of condensation of vapors at higher pressure on gasdynamic behavior of the flow is considered. At higher pressure the radius of critical droplets can be comparable with the mean free path. This has to be taken into account when the equation of droplets' growth is derived. A modified set of equations using Hertz and Knudsen models for droplet growth is proposed.     

Heat and mass transfer during condensation in a vertical channel under mixed convection

The problem of condensation by mixed convection in a vertical channel has been numerically analyzed for an air water system. The plates of the channel are subjected to uniform but different heat fluxes. The effects of ambient conditions on the condensation process are investigated. The results show particularly the existence of a particular temperature called inversion temperature for condensation. This temperature is defined as the temperature above it the condensation rate is higher for a lower vapor concentration. It was found that this temperature increases with the increase of the ambient pressure and decreases with the cooling heat flux.     

Effect of vapor condensation on forced convection heat transfer of moistened gas

The forced convection heat transfer with water vapor condensation is studied both theoretically and experimentally when wet flue gas passes downwards through a bank of horizontal tubes. Extraordinarily, discussions are concentrated on the effect of water vapor condensation on forced convection heat transfer. In the experiments, the air–steam mixture is used to simulate the flue gas of a natural gas fired boiler, and the vapor mass fraction ranges from 3.2 to 12.8%. By theoretical analysis, a new dimensionless number defined as augmentation factor is derived to account for the effect of condensation of relatively small amount of water vapor on convection heat transfer, and a consequent correlation is proposed based on the experimental data to describe the combined convection–condensation heat transfer. Good agreement can be found between the values of the Nusselt number obtained from the experiments and calculated by the correlation. The maximum deviation is within ±6%. The experimental results also shows that the convection–condensation heat transfer coefficient increases with Reynolds number and bulk vapor mass fraction, and is 1∼3.5 times that of the forced convection without condensation.     

Forced convective film condensation inside vertical tubes

A theoretical study of forced convective film condensation inside vertical tubes is presented. We propose a unified procedure for predicting the pressure gradient and condensation heat transfer coefficient of a vapor flowing turbulently in the core and associated with laminar or turbulent film on the tube wall. The analysis for the vapor flows is performed under the condition that the velocity profiles are locally self-similar. The laminar and turbulent film models equate the gravity, pressure and viscous forces, and consider the effect of interfacial shear. The transition from laminar to turbulent film depends not only on the liquid Reynolds number but also on the interfacial shear stress. In this work we also proposed a new eddy viscosity model which is divided into three regions: the inner region in liquid condensate near the wall; the interface region including both liquid and vapor; and the outer region for the vapor core. Comparisons of the theory with some published experimental data showed good agreement.     

Effect of Interphase Heat Transfer on the Stability of a Turbulent Multicomponent Flow in a Vortex

The parameters of an axisymmetric turbulent two-phase swirling flow of a viscous heat-conducting gas containing a liquid dispersed phase in the presence of water vapor condensation on the particles are calculated. For the dispersed phase, a model taking into account the variation of the vapor concentration and the particle size due to condensation or evaporation is proposed. The distributions of the parameters of the basic unperturbed flow obtained numerically are used in the numerical solution of the linear problem of hydrodynamic stability within the time-dependent formulation. The parameters of small-amplitude harmonic perturbations propagating along the vortex axis are investigated in the linear formulation. A significant effect of heat release in the gas due to water vapor condensation on the parameters of the neutral perturbations and the neutral-stability curves is detected.     

Effect of temperature gradient on Marangoni condensation heat transfer for ethanol–water mixtures

This paper experimentally studied the effect of macroscopic temperature gradient on Marangoni condensation of ethanol–water vapor mixtures under a wide range of concentrations. For each concentration, the experiment was performed at different velocities and pressures. An oblique copper block was employed to create surface temperature gradient. The results indicated that local heat flux was varied along transversal condensation surface, which was caused by surface temperature gradient. This difference in heat flux might be attributed to the variation of condensate thickness on condensation surface. In addition, a mean heat transfer coefficient was derived along transversal condensation surface. For low ethanol concentration (0.5%, 1%), the coefficient kept a high value over a relative wide range of vapor-to-surface temperature difference (<10 K) and could be augmented as much as 15% as compared with literature under similar experimental condition. Moreover, the mean heat transfer coefficient generally increased with increasing velocity or pressure for all concentrations of the ethanol–water mixtures.     

Flow condensation heat transfer characteristics of hydrocarbon refrigerants and dimethyl ether inside a horizontal plain tube

Flow condensation heat transfer coefficients (HTCs) and pressure drop of R22, propylene, propane, DME and isobutane are measured on a horizontal plain tube. The main test section in the experimental flow loop is made of a plain copper tube of 8.8 mm inner diameter and 530 mm length. The refrigerant is cooled by passing cold water through the annulus surrounding the test section. Tests are performed at a fixed refrigerant saturation temperature of 40 ± 0.2 °C with mass fluxes of 100, 200, and 300 kg/m² s and heat flux of 7.3–7.7 kW/m². The heat transfer and pressure drop data are obtained in the vapor quality range of 10–90%. Test results show that for a given mass flux the flow condensation HTCs of propylene, propane, DME and isobutane are higher than those of R22 by up to 46.8%, 53.3%, 93.5% and 61.6%, respectively. Also well-known correlations developed based upon conventional fluorocarbon refrigerants predict the present data within a mean deviation of 33%. Finally, the pressure drop increases as the mass flux and quality increase and isobutane shows the highest pressure drop due to its lowest vapor pressure among the fluids tested.     

Heat and mass transfer characteristics of simulated high moisture flue gases

The heat transfer process occurring in a condensing heat exchanger where noncondensible gases are dominant in volume is different from the condensation heat transfer of the water vapor containing small amount of noncondensible gases. In the process the mass transfer due to the vapor condensation contributes an important part to the total heat transfer. In this paper, the Colburn-Hougen method is introduced to analyze the heat and mass transfer process when the water vapor entrained in a gas stream condenses into water on the tube wall. The major influential factors of the convective-condensation heat transfer coefficient are found as follows: the partial pressure of the vapor p _v , the temperature of the outer tube wall T _w , the mixture temperature T _g , Re and Pr. A new dimensionless number Ch, which is defined as condensation factor, has been proposed by dimensional analysis. In order to determine the relevant constants and investigate the convection-condensation heat and mass transfer characteristics of the condensing heat exchanger of a gas fired condensing boiler, a single row plain tube heat exchanger is designed, and experiments have been conducted with vapor-air mixture used to simulate flue gases. The experimental results show that the convection-condensation heat transfer coefficient is 1.52 times higher than that of the forced convection without condensation. Based on the experimental data, the normalized formula for convention-condensation heat transfer coefficient is obtained. A heat transfer area m² - Ch condensation factor - c _p specific heat at constant pressure, J/(kg·K) - G mass flux Kg/(m²·s) - h heat transfer coefficient W/(m²·K) - J J-factor - Nu Nusselt number - pa pressure - Pr Prandtl number - Q heat transfer rate - q heat flux W/m² - r latent heat, kJ/kg - Re Reynolds number - Sc Schmidt number - T temperature, C or K - heat conductivity m W/(m·K) - density, kg·m³ - g gas - h moistened hot air - i interface - v vapor - w water     

Pure steam condensation model with laminar film in a vertical tube

A new physical model for calculating the liquid film thickness and condensation heat transfer coefficient in a vertical condenser tube is proposed by considering the effects of gravity, liquid viscosity, and vapor flow in the core region of the flow. To estimate the velocity profile in the liquid film, the liquid film was assumed to be in Couette flow forced by the interfacial velocity at the liquid–vapor interface. For simplifying the calculation procedures, the interfacial velocity was estimated by introducing an empirical power-law velocity profile. The resulting film thickness and heat transfer coefficient from the model were compared with the experimental data and the results obtained from the other condensation models. The results demonstrated that the proposed model described the liquid film thinning effect by the vapor shear flow and predicted the condensation heat transfer coefficient from experiments reasonably well.     

Experimental study on the condensation of ethanol–water mixtures on vertical tube

The condensation heat transfer of the ethanol–water mixtures on the vertical tube over a wide range of ethanol concentrations was investigated. The condensation curves of the heat flux and the heat transfer coefficients revealed nonlinear characteristics and had peak values, with respect to the change of the vapor-to-surface temperature difference. This characteristic applies to all ethanol concentrations under all experimental conditions. With the decrease of the ethanol concentrations, the condensation heat transfer coefficient increased notably, especially when the ethanol concentration was very low. The maximum heat transfer coefficient of the vapor mixtures increased to 9 times as compared with that of pure steam at ethanol vapor mass concentration of 1%. With the increase of the ethanol concentrations, the condensation heat transfer coefficient decreased accordingly. When the ethanol concentration reached 50%, the heat transfer coefficient was smaller than that of the pure steam.     

R410A condensation inside a commercial brazed plate heat exchanger

This paper presents the heat transfer coefficients and the pressure drop measured during HFC-410A condensation inside a commercial brazed plate heat exchanger: the effects of saturation temperature, refrigerant mass flux and vapour super-heating are investigated. The heat transfer coefficients show weak sensitivity to saturation temperature and great sensitivity to refrigerant mass flux and vapour super-heating. At low refrigerant mass flux (<20 kg/m² s) the saturated vapour condensation heat transfer coefficients are not dependent on mass flux and are well predicted by Nusselt [W. Nusselt, Die oberflachenkondensation des wasserdampfes, Energy 60 (1916) 541–546, 569–575] analysis for vertical surface: the condensation process is gravity controlled. For higher refrigerant mass flux (>20 kg/m²s) the saturated vapour condensation heat transfer coefficients depend on mass flux and are well predicted by Akers et al. [W.W. Akers, H.A. Deans, O.K. Crosser, Condensing heat transfer within horizontal tubes, Chem. Eng. Prog. Symp. Series 55 (1959) 171–176] equation: forced convection condensation occurs. In the forced convection condensation region the heat transfer coefficients show a 30% increase for a doubling of the refrigerant mass flux. The condensation heat transfer coefficients of super-heated vapour are 8–10% higher than those of saturated vapour and are well predicted by Webb [R.L. Webb, Convective condensation of superheated vapor, ASME J. Heat Transfer 120 (1998) 418–421] model. A simple linear equation based on the kinetic energy per unit volume of the refrigerant flow is proposed for the computation of the frictional pressure drop.     

Detonation wave initiated by explosive condensation of supersaturated carbon vapor

An experimental study of the influence of condensation of supersaturated carbon vapor formed behind reflected shock waves on the process of propagation of a shock wave and formation of a detonation wave of condensation is carried out. Highly supersaturated carbon vapor was formed from thermal decay of unstable carbon suboxide C₃O₂ → C + 2CO behind a shock wave in mixtures containing 10–30% C₃O₂ in Ar. This reaction was followed by fast growth of condensed carbon particles, accompanied by heat release. Experiments have shown a considerable temperature and pressure increase in the narrow zone behind the wave front, resulting in shock wave amplification and transition to a detonation-like regime. An analysis of the kinetics and heat release in the given conditions and calculations based upon one-dimensional detonation theory have shown that in a mixture of 10% C₃O₂ + Ar, insufficient heat release resulted in a regime of “overdriven detonation”. In a mixture of 20% C₃O₂ + Ar a very good coincidence of measured values of pressure and wave velocity with calculated Chapman–Jouguet parameters is observed. In a 30% C₃O₂ + Ar mixture, an excess heat release caused a slow down of the effective condensation rate and a regime of “underdriven detonation” is observed.     

Experimental investigation of heat transfer with the condensation of the moving vapor of Freon-21 on horizontal cylinders

The article gives experimental data on heat transfer with the condensation of the moving vapor of Freon-21 (F-21) in a wide range of velocities, specific weights of the vapor, transverse dimensions of the experimental section, and heat fluxes. The points obtained are compared with the experiments of other authors and with existing theoretical dependences.Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Mekhaniki i Tekhnicheskoi Fiziki, No. 2, pp. 133–139, March–April, 1976.     

A Non-isothermal Pore Network Drying Model with Gravity Effect

The concept of immiscible displacement as an invasion percolation (IP) process driven by heat and mass transfer is used in a pore network model for convective drying of capillary porous media. The coupling between heat and mass transfer occurs at the liquid–gas interface through temperature-dependent equilibrium vapor pressure and surface tension as well as the phase change enthalpy (in evaporation and condensation). The interfacial effects due to capillary forces and gravity are combined in an invasion potential; viscous forces are neglected. Simulation results show stabilized invasion patterns and finite drying front width by the influence of gravity.