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Dropwise Condensation: Experiments

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Drop Dynamics and Dropwise Condensation on Textured Surfaces

Part of the book series: Mechanical Engineering Series ((MES))

Abstract

Experimental determination of the heat transfer coefficient during dropwise condensation is a difficult task because of the many intricacies involved. The driving temperature difference is small, essentially resulting in a high heat transfer coefficient. Further, uncertainties associated with the microscale sub-structure of contact line shapes and motions, dynamic temperature variations below the condensing drops, effect of roughness and inhomogeneity of the substrate structure, control of true boundary conditions, microscale instrumentation, and transport dynamics of coalescence, merger, wipe-off, renucleation cycles, and the leaching rates of the promoter layer add to the difficulty in conducting repeatable experiments. Very high heat transfer rates (and therefore a very low temperature differential) coupled with the above factors also hinder generation of repeatable experimental data. Consequently, many conflicting experimental results have been published over the years, some results showing considerable scatter. In this chapter, experimental results of condensation patterns and the corresponding predictions of numerical simulation for water vapor are compared. The prediction of the model is in fair agreement with the experimental data for condensation of water vapor. Average heat flux as a function of degree of subcooling for water and mercury are compared. Although there is some discrepancy in the data obtained, major phenomena related to dropwise condensation underneath horizontal substrates are well simulated by the mathematical model.

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Abbreviations

θadv; θrcd:

Advancing and receding angles of the liquid drop on the chosen substrate, degree

hc(α):

Heat transfer coefficient for a substrate at an angle α, W/m2K

hc(90°):

Heat transfer coefficient for a vertical substrate, W/m2K

r min :

Minimum radius of the liquid drop at nucleation, m

t :

Time, s

Tsat, Tw, ΔT:

Saturation temperature of pure vapor, wall temperature, and degree of subcooling Tsat − Tw, K

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Amity University, Noida, India

    Basant Singh Sikarwar

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur, India

    K. Muralidhar & Sameer Khandekar

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  1. Basant Singh Sikarwar
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  2. K. Muralidhar
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Sikarwar, B.S., Muralidhar, K., Khandekar, S. (2020). Dropwise Condensation: Experiments. In: Drop Dynamics and Dropwise Condensation on Textured Surfaces. Mechanical Engineering Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48461-3_11

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48461-3_11

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