Condensation Heat Transfer

Disclaimer: All images used in this presentation were adapted from textbook “HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER FUNDAMENTALS & APPLICATIONS”, 5th EDITION.
Authors: YUNUS A. ÇENGEL and AFSHIN J. GHAJAR
1- Saturated steam at 1 atm condenses on a 3-m-high and 8-m-wide vertical plate that is maintained at 90°C by circulating cooling
water through the other side. Determine (a) the rate of heat transfer by condensation to the plate, and (b) the rate at which the
condensate drips off the plate at the bottom. Assume wavy-laminar flow. Is this a good assumption?

For wavy laminar,

0.33
𝑅𝑒 𝑘𝑙 𝑔 𝑊 ∗
ℎ𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡,𝑤𝑎𝑣𝑦 = = 6281 ℎ𝑓𝑔 = ℎ𝑓𝑔 + 0.68 𝐶𝑝𝑙 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑇𝑠 = 2.286 × 106 𝐽/𝑘𝑔
1.08 𝑅𝑒 1.22 − 5.2 𝜈𝑙2 𝑚2 . ℃

0.33 0.82
3.7 𝐿 𝑘𝑙 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑇𝑠 𝑔 Yes, it is a good assumption
𝑅𝑒 = 4.81 + ∗ = 1112.85
𝜇𝑙 ℎ𝑓𝑔 𝜈𝑙2 since 30 < Re < 1800

𝑄
𝑄 = ℎ 𝐴𝑠 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑇𝑠 = 6281 × 24 × 100 − 90 = 1.51 × 106 𝑊 𝑚ሶ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = ∗ = 0.659 𝑘𝑔/𝑠
ℎ𝑓𝑔
2- Repeat previous problem for the case of the plate being tilted 60° from the vertical.

0.25 0.25
𝑊
ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 = ℎ𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑡 (cos 𝜃) = 6281 (cos 60) = 5281.67 2
𝑚 .℃

𝑄 = ℎ 𝐴𝑠 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑇𝑠 = 5281.67 × 6 × 100 − 90 = 1.2676 × 106 𝑊

𝑄
𝑚ሶ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = ∗ = 0.5545 𝑘𝑔/𝑠
ℎ𝑓𝑔
3- Saturated steam at 55°C is to be condensed at a rate of 10 kg/h on the outside of a 3-cm-outer-diameter horizontal tube whose
surface is maintained at 45°C by the cooling water. Determine the required tube length.
Given:
𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 = 55 ℃
𝑚ሶ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 = 10 𝑘𝑔/ℎ
𝐷 = 3 𝑐𝑚
𝑇𝑠 = 45 ℃
Required:
𝐿

∗ 0.25
𝑔 𝜌𝑙 𝜌𝑙 − 𝜌𝑣 ℎ𝑓𝑔 𝑘𝑙3 𝑊
ℎℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧,1 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒 = 0.729 = 10137.9 2
𝜇𝑙 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑇𝑠 𝐷 𝑚 .℃

∗
ℎ𝑓𝑔 = ℎ𝑓𝑔 + 0.68 𝐶𝑝𝑙 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑇𝑠 = 2.4 × 106 𝐽/𝑘𝑔

∗
𝑄 = ℎ 𝐴𝑠 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑇𝑠 = 10137.9 × 𝜋 × 0.03 × 𝐿 × 55 − 45 = 𝑚ሶ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 × ℎ𝑓𝑔 ∴ 𝐿 = 0.7 𝑚
10
=3600 𝑘𝑔/𝑠
6- The condenser of a steam power plant operates at a pressure of 4.25 kPa. The condenser consists of 100 horizontal tubes
arranged in a 10 × 10 square array. The tubes are 8 m long and have an outer diameter of 3 cm. If the tube surfaces are at 20°C,
determine (a) the rate of heat transfer from the steam to the cooling water and (b) the rate of condensation of steam in the
condenser.
Given:
𝑃𝑠𝑎𝑡 = 4.25 𝑘𝑃𝑎
10 × 10 𝑠𝑞𝑢𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑟𝑎𝑦
𝐿 =8𝑚
𝐷 = 3 𝑐𝑚
𝑇𝑠 = 20 ℃ 1 1 𝑊
ℎℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧,𝑁 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒𝑠 = 0.25 ℎℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧,1 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒 = 8676.9 = 4879.4
Required: 𝑁 100.25 𝑚2 . ℃
𝑄 ∗ 0.25
𝑔 𝜌𝑙 𝜌𝑙 − 𝜌𝑣 ℎ𝑓𝑔 𝑘𝑙3 𝑊
𝑚ሶ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 ℎℎ𝑜𝑟𝑖𝑧,1 𝑡𝑢𝑏𝑒 = 0.729 = 8676.9 2
𝜇𝑙 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑇𝑠 𝐷 𝑚 .℃
∗
ℎ𝑓𝑔 = ℎ𝑓𝑔 + 0.68 𝐶𝑝𝑙 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑇𝑠 = 2.46 × 106 𝐽/𝑘𝑔

𝑄 = ℎ 𝐴𝑠 𝑇𝑠𝑎𝑡 − 𝑇𝑠 = 4879.4 × 𝜋 × 0.03 × 8 × 100 × 30 − 20 = 3.68 × 106 𝑊

𝑄 3.68 × 106
𝑚ሶ 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 = ∗ = = 1.496 𝑘𝑔/𝑠
ℎ𝑓𝑔 2.46 × 106