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Characteristics Analysis of Condensation outside Horizontal Tube Bundles and Novel Condensation Enhancement Method

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Abstract

Condensation is a phase-change heat-transfer phenomenon crucial in many industries involving latent heat release and mass transfer. Shell-and-tube condensers are essential contributors to the condensation process, and their tube bundles serve as a substrate. Here, the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of condensation in a longitudinal-flow shell-and-tube condenser were investigated numerically. The shell-side longitudinal-flow condensation on the horizontal tube bundles was studied considering inlet flow rate, overheating temperature, and non-condensable gases. Related pressure drops and heat transfer coefficients were subdivided into several components to provide further insights. Two-phase interface behavior analyses were conducted to demonstrate the outcomes with respect to the non-condensable gas layer, vapor quality, and non-condensable gas type. Based on the thorough quantitative analyses outlined above, the thermal resistance of the condensation on the horizontal tube bundle was investigated. The thermal resistance outside the tube was found to dominate the condensation process. Finally, hexagon clamping baffles (HCBs) were introduced as a novel solution to impair condensate boundary layers and provide perturbations to intensify condensation heat transfer. The results revealed that the HCBs enhanced the total heat transfer coefficients by 8.1%–40.7% while reducing the critical overheating temperature and the threshold ratio between sensible and latent heat.

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Abbreviations

A :

empirical constant

a :

volume fraction

B :

empirical constant

c p :

specific heat capacity at constant pressure/J·(kg·K)−1

F TD :

Judge parameter

f :

frictional resistance coefficient

G :

mass flux/kg·(m2·s)−1

h :

heat transfer coefficient/W·(m2·K)−1

K :

overall heat transfer coefficient/W·(m2·K)−1

k :

turbulent kinetic energy

m :

mass transfer rate/kg·(m3·s)−1

p :

pressure/Pa

Δp :

pressure drop/Pa

q :

heat flux/W·m−2

R :

thermal resistance/m2·K·kW−1

Re :

Reynolds number

r :

latent heat of vapor/kJ·kg−1

St :

Tube pitch/m

T :

temperature/K

T TD :

Judge parameter

V :

flow rate/m·s−1

X :

Martinelli parameter

x :

location/mm

α :

ratio of sensible heat and latent heat

β :

condensation coefficient/s−1

λ :

thermal conductivity/W·(m·K)−1

ρ :

density/kg·m−3

υ :

specific volume/m3·kg−1

χ :

vapor quality

cond:

condensation

conv:

convection

i:

inner side of tubes

in:

inlet

L:

liquid phase

N:

non-condensable gases

o:

outer side of tubes

out:

outlet

T:

temperature

t:

turbulent parameter

V:

vapor phase

w:

cooling water-side

HCB:

Hexagon Clamping Baffle

UDF:

User Defined Function

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the financial support for this work provided by Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51876146), the Excellent Youth Foundation of Hubei Scientific Committee (No. 2019CFA082), and the Opening Funds of the Key Lab on Steam Power System (TPL2018B01).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Thermo-Fluid Science and Engineering, Ministry of Education, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710049, China

    Nianqi Li, Ke Tian, Min Zeng & Qiuwang Wang

  2. Key Lab on Steam Power System, Wuhan Second Ship Design and Research Institute, Wuhan, 430025, China

    Hanbing Ke

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  1. Nianqi Li
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  2. Ke Tian
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  4. Min Zeng
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Correspondence to Hanbing Ke.

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Li, N., Tian, K., Ke, H. et al. Characteristics Analysis of Condensation outside Horizontal Tube Bundles and Novel Condensation Enhancement Method. J. Therm. Sci. 31, 934–945 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-022-1534-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11630-022-1534-8

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