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Experimental study on the falling film thickness distribution on a horizontal tube under the cross airflow

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Abstract

Horizontal tube falling film evaporation technology has outstanding advantages such as high energy efficiency and easy operation. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of cross airflow on the falling film thickness distribution outside the horizontal tube. The axial and circumferential film thickness distributions under inter-tube column flow mode are measured using the air-water system and the conductance probe method, and the mechanism of cross airflow on the falling film thickness distribution is analyzed. The results show that the axial film thickness between the two adjacent liquid columns has a wave crest region and is symmetric distributed, and the circumferential film thickness at the wave crest section does not symmetry about horizontal axis with a minimum value within the circumferential angle range of 100°~120° in the quiescent surroundings. When the cross airflow exists, the circumferential film thickness on the windward surface increases in the circumferential angle of 30°~90° and decreases in the circumferential angle of 90°~150°, while those on the leeward surface increases and becomes more uniform. The axial wave crest region and spreading region of the liquid film on the windward surface also increase, but those on the leeward surface change little.

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Abbreviations

Re :

Liquid film Reynolds number, \(4\Gamma /{\mu }_{L}\)

D :

Tube spacing, mm

H :

Liquid distribution height, mm

L :

Liquid film spreading distance, mm

S :

Tube diameter, mm

g :

Acceleration of gravity, m/s2

v :

Cross airflow velocity, m/s

l :

Axial distance, mm

\(\beta\) :

Circumferential angle, °

\(\Gamma\) :

Liquid flow rate on one side of tube, kg/(m·s)

\(\delta\) :

Liquid film thickness, mm

\(\mu\) :

Dynamic viscosity, N·s/m2

\(\rho\) :

Density, kg/m3

\(\lambda\) :

Falling film wavelength, mm

G :

Gas

F :

Liquid

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the financial support by Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (ZR2021ME141) to this research work.

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  1. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan, 250061, Shandong, China

    Zhen Xu, Haojie Zhu & Yalei Zhao

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  1. Zhen Xu
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Contributions

Zhen Xu provided the research direction, designed the experimental apparatus, discussed the results and implications, and commented on the manuscript at all stages. Haojie Zhu write the draft(including substantive translation). Yalei Zhao performed the experiments and collated data.

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Correspondence to Zhen Xu.

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Xu, Z., Zhu, H. & Zhao, Y. Experimental study on the falling film thickness distribution on a horizontal tube under the cross airflow. Heat Mass Transfer 59, 2167–2179 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-023-03402-7

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