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Convective heat transfer measurements in a vapour-liquid-liquid three-phase direct contact heat exchanger

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Abstract

Energy usage is increasing around the world due to the continued development of technology, and population growth. Solar energy is a promising low-grade energy resource that can be harvested and utilised in different applications, such solar heater systems, which are used in both domestic and industrial settings. However, the implementation of an efficient energy conversion system or heat exchanger would enhance such low-grade energy processes. The direct contact heat exchanger could be the right choice due to its ability to efficiently transfer significant amounts of heat, simple design, and low cost. In this work, the heat transfer associated with the direct contact condensation of pentane vapour bubbles in a three-phase direct contact condenser is investigated experimentally. Such a condenser could be used in a cycle with a solar water heater and heat recovery systems. The experiments on the steady state operation of the three-phase direct contact condenser were carried out using a short Perspex tube of 70 cm in total height and an internal diameter of 4 cm. Only a height of 48 cm was active as the direct contact condenser. Pentane vapour, (the dispersed phase) with three different initial temperatures (40° C, 43.5° C and 47.5° C) was directly contacted with water (the continuous phase) at 19° C. The experimental results showed that the total heat transfer rate per unit volume along the direct contact condenser gradually decreased upon moving higher up the condenser. Additionally, the heat transfer rate increases with increasing mass flow rate ratio, but no significant effect on the heat transfer rate of varying the initial temperature of the dispersed phase was seen. Furthermore, both the outlet temperature of the continuous phase and the void fraction were positively correlated with the total heat transfer rate per unit volume, with no considerable effect of the initial temperature difference between the dispersed and continuous phases.

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Abbreviations

Ho :

Water level in the test section (m).

\( {\dot{m}}_c \) :

Continous phase mass flow rate (kg/min).

\( {\dot{m}}_d \) :

disprsed phase mass flow rate (kg/min).

R :

Mass flow rate ratio.

Q v :

Heat transfer rate per unit volume (kW/m3).

U v :

Volumetric heat transfer coefficient (kJ/m3.s).

T ci :

Continous phase inlet (initial) temperture (° C).

T co :

Continous phase outlet temperture (° C)

Tcond :

Temperature of the condensate (°C)

Tc1 − 4 :

Local temperature (position 1 to 4) along the test section height (°C)

Tdi :

Disprsed phase in;et(initial) temperature (°C)

∆Tlmi :

Log-mean temperature difference of section (i) of the test section (°C)

c :

Continous phase

d :

Dispresed phase

i :

Initial (or inlet)

o :

Outlet

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Science, University of Misan, Misan, Iraq

    Hameed B. Mahood

  2. College of Applied Science, Department of Engineeion/ Chemical Engineering, Sohar, Oman

    Hameed B. Mahood

  3. Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Physical Sciences, University of Surrey, Guildford, GU2 7XH, UK

    A. N. Campbell, A. O. Sharif & R. B. Thorpe

  4. Engineering Technical College, Al-Furat Al-Awsat Technical University, Al-Najaf, 31003, Iraq

    Ali Sh. Baqir

Authors
  1. Hameed B. Mahood
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  2. A. N. Campbell
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  3. Ali Sh. Baqir
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  4. A. O. Sharif
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  5. R. B. Thorpe
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Correspondence to Hameed B. Mahood.

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Mahood, H.B., Campbell, A.N., Baqir, A.S. et al. Convective heat transfer measurements in a vapour-liquid-liquid three-phase direct contact heat exchanger. Heat Mass Transfer 54, 1697–1705 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-017-2260-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-017-2260-8

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