CONDENSATION OF H2O2-H2O-AIR EXHAUST GAS

THROUGH A FOUR IN-LINE TUBE BUNDLES HEAT EXCHANGER

SITTIPONG BOONKAEW

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE REQUIREMENTS FOR DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN CHEMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
BURAPHA UNIVERSITY
NOVEMBER 2015
COPYRIGHT OF BURAPHA UNIVERSITY
 The thesis of Sittipong Boonkaew has been approved by the examining
committee to be partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in
Chemical and Environmental Engineering of Burapha University

Advisory Committee

(Assistant Professor Dr. Wirog afia Ruengphrathuengsuka)

(Associate Professor Dr. Worachest Pirompugd)

Examining Committee

..W*. .L .. .. .. .... ... ... ... ...principle examiner

(Dr. Maturose Suchatawat)

Member
(Assistant Professor Dr. Wirog ana Ruengphrathuengsuka)

(Associate Professor Dr. Worachest Pirompugd)

Member
(Dr. Thanongsak Thepsonthi)

This thesis has been approved by the Faculty of Engineering to be partial

fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical and
Environmental Engineering of Burapha University

......,{.,.@......DeanoftheFacultyofEngineering
(Dr. Anat Deepatana)
... .. ?S ...Novemberr 2015
 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my sincere thanks to my advisors both Assistant

Professor Dr. Wirogana Ruengphrathuengsuka and Associate Professor Dr.
Worachest Pirompugd, who so patiently offered their time, kindhearted,
enthusiastic attitude, guidance, and encouragement throughout this research during
my Ph.D. program.
I owe thanks to the Department of Chemical Engineering, Burapha
University, where my work was carried out and partially funded during 2011 till
2015. I also would like to thank my company SIG Combibloc who provides me the
opportunity to pursue this study.

Sittipong Boonkaew
54810207: MAJOR: CHEMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING;
Ph.D. (CHEMICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEERING)
KEYWORDS: CONDENSATION/ HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER/ HEAT
EXCHANGER/ EXHAUST GAS/ IN-LINE TUBE BUNDLES
SITTIPONG BOONKAEW: CONDENSATION OF H2O2-H2O-AIR
EXHAUST GAS THROUGH A FOUR IN-LINE TUBE BUNDLES HEAT
EXCHANGER. ADVISORY COMMITTEE: WIROGANA
RUENGPHRATHUENGSUKA, Ph.D., WORACHEST PIROMPUGD, Ph.D., 58 P.
2015

In this paper, the heat and mass transfer characteristics of condensing

exhaust gas consisted of Hydrogen Peroxide vapor (H2O2), water vapor (H2O), and air
through a four bundle tubes heat exchanger in a cross-flow direction was investigated.
The three components in the studied exhaust gas were condensable Hydrogen
Peroxide 4.5 mass percent, condensable water vapor 32.6 mass percent, and non-
condensable air 62.9 percent. The exhaust gas inlet was controlled at 45°C, volume
flow rate of 90 m3/h and outlet pressure at one atmospheric pressure. The cooling
water inlet temperature were between 10°C and 25°C while the flow rate were
between 4 and 11 liter/min. and the inlet pressure was 1.5 bar. A simplified multi-
species transport model was, also, developed for heat and mass transfer of the exhaust
gas in this heat exchanger. The condensation process was simulated by using the k-ε
turbulent model for a homogeneous mixture. Numerical results from Computational
fluid dynamics (CFD) package, FLUENT®, were compared with the experimental
data. It has been found that the developed transport model was able to predict the
exhaust gas heat and mass transfer in the tube bundles with fairly good accuracy
within the error of 8.5 percent. The condensation rate increases with the increase of
cooling water flow rate or decrease of cooling water temperature. In addition, the
maximum Hydrogen Peroxide concentration in condensed liquid is increased with the
increase of cooling water flow rate and cold water temperature. The studied results of
temperature, heat loss, mass percent and concentration of condensed liquid are also
presented and discussed.
 CONTENTS

Page
ABTRACT ........................................................................................................ .iv
CONTENTS .......................................................................................................... v
LIST OF TABLES ...................................................................................................... vii
LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................viii
NOMENCLATURE ..................................................................................................... x
CHAPTER
1 INTRUDUCTION ......................................................................................... 1
General introduction.................................................................................. 1
Objectives ................................................................................................. 2
Work scopes .............................................................................................. 2
Benefit outcome ........................................................................................ 3
2 LITERATURE REVIEWS ............................................................................ 4
Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) ........................................................................ 4
Heat Exchanger ......................................................................................... 7
Internal flow ......................................................................................... 9
External flow ...................................................................................... 11
Condensation rate ............................................................................... 14
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD).................................................... 15
Pre-Processing .................................................................................... 15
Solver ................................................................................................. 16
Post-Processing .................................................................................. 17
Mathematical models .............................................................................. 18
Physical descriptions .......................................................................... 18
Species Transport Model (STM) ........................................................ 19
Governing equation ............................................................................ 20
Basic governing equations ............................................................. 20
Turbulence model .......................................................................... 20
Condensation model ...................................................................... 22
 vi

CONTENTS (Con.)

CHAPTER Page
Mass fraction equations ................................................................. 24
Model assumptions and boundary conditions ................................. 24
Numerical computations .......................................................................... 26
Numerical methods ............................................................................ 26
Computation mesh.............................................................................. 26
Related research ...................................................................................... 28
3 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................... 30
Experimental Apparatus .......................................................................... 30
Condensation Test-rig ........................................................................ 30
Measuring tools .................................................................................. 32
Computer hardware ............................................................................ 34
CAD and CFD software ..................................................................... 34
CAD model ........................................................................................ 34
Experimental procedure .......................................................................... 35
4 RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS ................................................................ 37
Model validation ..................................................................................... 37
Reynolds number and convection Nusselt number .................................. 38
Temperature fields .................................................................................. 39
Heat transfer ............................................................................................ 40
Condensation mass flux .......................................................................... 42
Mass fraction and condensation rate fields .............................................. 43
Concentration rate fields ......................................................................... 48
5 CONCLUSIONS ......................................................................................... 49
Recommendations .................................................................................... 50
REFERENCES ................................................................................................ 51
APPENDIX ..................................................................................................... 54
APPENDIX A: THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS.......... 55
BIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................. 58
 LIST OF TABLES

Table Page
3-1 Condition of the test-rig ..................................................................................... 36
4-1 Comparison between experimental and computational results ........................... 37
4-2 Condensation rate of each species H2O2 and H2O ............................................. 47
 LIST OF FIGURES

Figures Page
2-1 Decompose of H2O2 to kill micro-organisms ...................................................... 4
2-2 Density of H2O2 ................................................................................................. 5
2-3 Boiling point of H2O2 ........................................................................................ 6
2-4 Heat capacity of H2O2 ........................................................................................ 6
2-5 Heat of evaporation of H2O2 .............................................................................. 7
2-6 Cross-flow heat exchangers ............................................................................... 8
2-7 Temperature distributions for heat exchanger .................................................... 8
2-8 Internal flow inside the tube ............................................................................... 9
2-9 Friction factor for fully developed flow in a circular tube ................................ 10
2-10 Schematic of maximum velocity through bundle in-line tube ........................ 11
2-11 The effect of turbulence on separation ........................................................... 12
2-12 Friction factor and correction factor of in-line tube bundle arrangement . 13
2-13 CFD Modeling overview ................................................................................ 15
2-14 3D model and overview of fluid flow arrangement ........................................ 18
2-15 In-line tube bundle .......................................................................................... 19
2-16 The species transport model ........................................................................... 19
2-17 Boundary conditions ....................................................................................... 25
2-18 Grid generation around cold water tubes ........................................................ 26
2-19 Grid independence test ................................................................................... 27
3-1 Test-rig ............................................................................................................. 30
3-2 H2O2 Condensation test section ........................................................................ 31
3-3 Fixed gas detector (Dreager Polytron 7000) ..................................................... 32
3-4 Measuring tool for flow speed, pressure and temperature (KIMO MP200) ...... 33
3-5 CAD model of cross flow heat exchanger based on the test-rig ........................ 34
3-6 Flowchart of experimental procedure ............................................................... 35
4-1 Reynolds number and Nusselt number of cold water ........................................ 38
4-2 Temperature field of exhaust air
(Conditions: u , = 3.6 m/s, = 11 liter/min, T = 10°C) .......................... 39
 ix

LIST OF FIGURES (Con.)

Figures Page
4-3 Exit temperature of cold water and exhaust gas in STM ................................... 40
4-4 Heat transfer rate profile in STM ...................................................................... 41
4-5 Average heat transfer coefficient at difference cooling water conditions.......... 42
4-6 Average condensation mass flux
(Conditions: u , = 3.6 m/s, = 11 liter/min, T = 10°C) ............................ 42
4-7 Average condensation mass flux in STM ......................................................... 43
4-8 H2O2 mass fraction(at u , = 3.6 m/s, = 11 liter/min, T = 10°C) ............ 44
4-9 Exit mass fraction of H2O2 and H2O in exhaust gas .......................................... 45
4-10 Mass depletion or condensation of H2O2 and H2O from exhaust gas vapor .... 46
4-11 Total condensation rate of mixing species H2O2 and H2O .............................. 46
4-12 Condensation rate of each species H2O2 and H2O ........................................... 47
4-13 H2O2 concentrations in condensed liquid ........................................................ 48
 NOMENCLATURE

total heat transfer surface m

free-flow area just before tube bundle m
heat capacity rate of hot fluid J/kg K
heat capacity rate of cold fluid J/kg K
inside diameter of the tube m
outer diameter of the tube m
total energy J
external body force term N/m
. condensation mass flux kg/s/m
friction factor
maximum mass flow velocity kg/m
generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to buoyancy kg/m s
generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to mean velocity gradients
kg/m s
Gratz number
gravity m/s
enthalpy J/kg
heat transfer coefficient of external flow W/m K
heat transfer coefficient of internal flow W/m K
diffusion flux of species j kg/m s
turbulence kinetic energy m /s
latent heat J/kg
length m
number of tubes per row
mass flow rate kg/s
rate of condensation kg/s
→ rate of mass transfer due to condensation /
molecular weight g/mol
N number of tube rows in direction of flow
 xi

NOMENCLATURE (Con.)

Nusselt number
static pressure Pa
∆ Pressure drop Pa
pressure Pa
∗
vapor partial pressure Pa
total heat transfer rate kW)
Prandltl number
universal gas constant J/mol K
Reynolds number
net rate of production by chemical reaction of species kg/s m
source term in governing equations for the mass, momentum and energy
rate of creation by addition from the dispersed phase kg/s m
source term, including the heat generated by the chemical reactions
transverse pitch m
time s
Temperature K
∆ logarithmic mean temperature difference K
velocity m/s
volumetric flow rate l/min
distance m
local mass fraction of chemical species
contribution of the fluctuating dilatation in compressible turbulence
correction factor for effects of tube bundle configuration

Greek symbols
volume fraction
means of the accommodation coefficient of the gas
turbulence kinetic energy dissipation rate m /s
correction factor
 xii

NOMENCLATURE (Con.)

Greek symbols (Con.)

turbulent Prandtl numbers
kinematic viscosity m /s
thermal conductivity W/m K
molecular viscosity kg/m s
density kg/m
stress tensor Pa

Subscripts
exhaust gas
, , special direction
inlet
i initial flow velocity based on flow inside the heat exchanger shell without
the tubes
outlet
saturation
liquid
gas
vapor-liquid phase change
cold water
turbulent
vapor phase
liquid phase

Abbreviations
CFD computational fluid dynamics
STM species transport model
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

General introduction
Nowadays, the demand of using Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) in industry is
increasing very fast due to growing up of the aseptic food and other business. There
is the forecast that H2O2 demand will reach 4.67 Million Metric Tons by 2017
(Global Hydrogen Peroxide Market by 2017, 2015). In aseptic food process, thirty-
five percents in concentration of H2O2 liquid is used in fill pack process in order to
increase the food life time (Von Bockelmann & Von Bockelmann, 1986). The vapor
consists of high concentration of H2O2 is generated and fed continuously into the
process. This H2O2 vapor in quantity about thirty percents by mass is used to sterile
and kill the micro-organisms during filling and packing process in aseptic zone.
After that, the exhaust gas with the remaining of H2O2 vapor mixture about seventy
percents is exhausted out from the aseptic zone and is discharged out from
production area to outside building directly. Consequently, this remaining H2O2 in
the exhaust gas will be impacted on oxidation reactions with the environment such
as roofs, walls and trees. Moreover, it also impacts to the health hazard of the
people as H2O2 is corrosive to eyes, nose, throat, lungs and cause skin irritation
(Jones, 1999).
In order to reduce situations that impact to the environment and people
from H2O2 emission, the production process has to reduce H2O2 concentration in the
released exhaust gas before going to scrubber system. There is the way to recovery
the H2O2 in the vapor mixture from the exhaust gas and reuse it in the process. To
perform such recovery, it is not only protecting the environmental quality, but also
significantly reduces the usage of H2O2 consumption, as well as the cost of the
scrubber system. From this idea, heat exchanger techniques are used for recovery
process. Additionally, H2O2 can generate contamination on tube surface which is
not easy to clean out. Therefore, tube bundle is designed for in-line tube
arrangement in order to facilitate the maintenance and cleaning activities. Lin and
his team (Lin, Wang, & Bao, 2013) studied condensation of a flue gas (water vapor
 2

mixture with air and CO2) through a cooling tube bundle and found that the
developed multi-species transport model was able to predict the flue gas heat and
mass transfer in the tube bundle with fairly good accuracy. The heat and mass
depletion levels decrease with the increase of the flue gas Reynolds numbers. A
new Nusselt number correlation was, then, developed for flue gas convection in the
tube bundle. However, there was only one condensable species, H2O, has been
studied. The study of two condensable species is yet to be found. It is a complicate
system since the two condensable components have different physical properties
upon phase changes. Exhaust gas of three species, such a H2O2, H2O and air
possesses two condensation species of H2O2 vapor and water vapor with the non-
condensable air is expected to be much more complicate phenomena than that of a
single specie condensation investigated by previous researchers.
In this study, condensation of exhaust gas with two condensation species
(H2O and H2O2) was studied with the test-rig of a four in-line tube bundles heat
exchanger and subsequently was validated by the computational model. The effects
of inlet temperatures and flow rates of cold water on the heat and mass transfer of
condensing exhaust gas were investigated

Objective
1. To investigate the condensation rates and concentration of H2O2 from
test-rig
2. To develop a simulation model of heat exchanger based on test-rig
results

Work scope
Upon the test-rig results, the simulation of a specified model will be
explored and verified. It is carried out by 3D simulation model of heat exchanger
with 4 aligned tube banks (32 tubes of 18 mm. in diameter) and transverse pitch
(ST)/longitudinal pitch (SL) 25 mm. FLUENT was used for the simulation. The
result criteria were defined to identify the followings:
1. Exit temperature of exhaust gas and cold water.
 3

2. Heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer rate.

3. Average condensation mass flux.
4. Exit mass fraction of H2O2 and H2O remaining in exhaust gas.
5. Mass depletion or condensation of H2O2 and H2O from exhaust gas.
6. Total condensation rates of mixing species, H2O2 and H2O.
7. Condensation rate of each species, H2O2 and H2O.
8. H2O2 concentrations in condensed liquid.

Benefit outcome
1. Obtain the accurate model and configurations for further new design.
2. Reduce cost and time due to flexible of checking design and simulate in
CAD without any additional investment. It is low risk in prototype development.
3. Lower the process cost from significantly reduce H2O2 consumption in
business application and diminish the impact on environment from lower the H2O2
emission.
 CHAPTER 2
LITERATUR4E REVIEWS

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2)

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is an oxidizer commonly used as bleach. It is the
simplest peroxide (a compound with an oxygen-oxygen single bond). Hydrogen
peroxide is a clear liquid, slightly more viscous than water that appears colorless in
dilute solution. It is used as a disinfectant, antiseptic, oxidizer, and in rocketry as a
propellant. The oxidizing capacity of hydrogen peroxide is so strong that it is
considered a highly reactive oxygen species. (Hydrogen peroxide, 2013)
Hydrogen peroxide is naturally produced in organisms as a by-product of
oxidative metabolism. Nearly all living things (specifically, all obligate and facultative
aerobes) possess enzymes known as catalyze peroxidases, which harmlessly and
catalytically decompose low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide to water and oxygen.
Hydrogen peroxide as a pure substance is an explosive liquid. Commercially
available are more stable colorless solutions of approximately 30% H2O2 in water.
Light and catalysts such as manganese dioxide, platinum, or even blood or dust cause
hydrogen peroxide to decompose and release oxygen gas, which is why it is sometimes
called “active oxygen”.

Figure 2-1 Decompose of H2O2 to kill micro-organisms.

 5

Figure 2-1 shows that H2O2 is decomposed under the influence of increased
temperature to water and atomic oxygen (2H2O2  2H2O + 2O). The oxygen is in an
atomic state during the generation stage and is very reactive. This atomic oxygen is
strongly oxidizing and destroys all micro-organisms. That means: the micro-organisms
are not able to reproduce any more. The atomic oxygen decomposes to its molecular
form (2O  O2) within fractions of a second. This form corresponds to the air oxygen
and does not contribute to the sterilization.
Physical data and properties
H2O2 is a clear, colorless liquid. It is only used in aqueous solution and is
miscible with water in all proportions. At low concentrations, H2O2 is odorless. It has a
slightly pungent odor at higher concentrations. Molecular weight of H2O2 is 34.016
(Hydrogen peroxide, 2013).
The physical properties of H2O2 is shown by graph in Figure 2-2, to 2-5

Figure 2-2 Density of H2O2 (Jones, 1999).

 6

Figure 2-3 Boiling point of H2O2 (Jones, 1999).

The specific heat of H2O2 at 25°C.

Figure 2-4 Heat capacity of H2O2 (Jones, 1999).

 7

Heat of evaporation, transformation of H2O2 to vapor requires less heat at high

concentrations of H2O2.

Figure 2-5 Heat of evaporation of H2O2 (Jones, 1999).

Heat Exchanger
Heat exchangers are devices that facilitate heat transfer between two or more
fluids at different temperatures. Cross-flow heat exchangers is used for this study as
shown in Figure 2-6, the cold fluid flow inside the tubes (internal flow) in the transverse
direction of the hot fluid flow (external flow). Un-finned tube and in-line tube bank are
used in this heat exchanger due to the maintenance purpose and minimize pressure drop
which impact to aseptic functions in aseptic zone of filler.
 8

Figure 2-6 Cross-flow heat exchangers (Incropera & Incropera, 2007).

In order to obtain condensation from hot vapor, cold fluid has to take out the
heat from hot vapor until temperature down below saturated temperature. Figure 2-7,
shows temperature distributions for a heat exchanger in which the hot fluid has a heat
capacity rate ≡ , , which is much larger than that of the cold fluid, ≡

, ,. The temperature of the hot fluid slightly reduces throughout the heat
exchanger, while the temperature of the cold fluid increases. The temperature ∆ varies
with position along the path of flow through heat exchanger length ( ).

Figure 2-7 Temperature distributions for heat exchanger (Incropera & Incropera, 2007).
 9

Internal Flow
Internal flow inside the tube as shown in the Figure 2-8 is considered at flow
condition of fully developed velocity profile and mean temperature ( ), which depends
on whether the flow is laminar or turbulent. The Reynolds number ( ) for flow in a
circular tube is defined as

4
2 1

where is the mean fluid velocity, is the tube’s inside diameter, is density, is
the kinematic viscosity, is dynamic viscosity and is mass flow rate of cold water.
The turbulent flow is usually observed for (Özışık, 1985)

2300 2 2

Figure 2-8 Internal flow inside the tube (Incropera & Incropera, 2007).

Pressure drop (∆ ) becomes (Özışık, 1985)

∆ 2 3
2

where is the tube length. The friction factor obtained from Moody Chart as shown
in Figure 2-9.
 10

Figure 2-9 Friction factor for fully developed flow in a circular tube (Incropera, 2013).

Development of empirical relations is used to predict the mean Nusselt

number for laminar flow in the entrance region of a circular tube. The mean Nusselt
number for laminar flow in a circular tube at constant wall temperature is given by
Hausen (Hausen, 1943) as
0.0668
3.66 /
2 4
1 0.04
Gratz number is defined by
∙
2 5
/
where is Prandltl number

The heat transfer coefficient of internal flow ( ) can be determined in the

thermally developed region as

2 6
 11

To calculate the outlet temperature , we consider an overall energy

balance for the length of the tube, stated as
(Heat supplied to water from wall) = (energy removed by water by convection)

∆ 2 7
4
where ∆ is the logarithmic mean temperature difference, is wall temperature,
is outlet temperature, and inlet temperature. Let ∆ ≡ is inlet
temperature difference and ∆ ≡ is outlet temperature difference. Then the
logarithmic mean temperature difference becomes

∆ ∆
∆ 2 8
ln ∆ /∆ ln /

Now from Eqs. (2-7) and (2-8), we obtain

4
2 9

2 10
4

The total heat transfer rate is given by

211
External Flow
Pressure drop of external flow through tube bundles for the aligned tube bank,
the maximum velocity occurs between two tubes as show in the Figure 2-10

Figure 2-10 Schematic of maximum velocity through bundle in-line tube (Özışık, 1985).
 12

Maximum velocity obtained as (Özışık, 1985)

2 12

where is the flow velocity measured at a point in the heat exchanger before the
fluid enters the tube bank (or the flow velocity based on flow inside the heat exchanger
shell without the tubes), is the transverse pitch and is outer diameter of the tube
The location of separation depends on boundary layer transition shows in
Figure 2-11. For Reynolds number more than 200,000 on a smooth cylinder, the
boundary becomes turbulent. Flow separation is delayed, and the wake is smaller when
the boundary is laminar.

Figure 2-11 The effect of turbulence on separation (Incropera & Incropera, 2007).

Depending on the Reynolds number, the flow pattern near a cylinder can
vary significantly.

2 13

The pressure drop through a tube bank can be evaluated using the following
expression (Zukausras, 1973):

∆ 2 14
2

Where = friction factor

 13

= maximum mass flow velocity, kg/(m2s)

N = number of tube rows in direction of flow
= correction factor for effects of tube bundle configuration

The friction factor and correction factor are given in Figure 2-12.

Figure 2-12 Friction factor and correction factor of in-line tube bundle
arrangement (Incropera & Incropera, 2007).

The heat transfer coefficient for gases flow a cross tube bundle is given by
Zukauskas (Zukausras, 1973)

.
2 15

.
2 16

where = the heat transfer coefficient of external flow, is Prandtl number, and
m are constants determined by correlating the experimental data for exhaust gas. For
 14

in-line tube arrangement and figure of Reynolds number, 0.27 and 0.63
(Özışık, 1985).
The total heat transfer rate ( ) is given by
∆ 2 17
Where = total heat transfer surface
= (surface area per tube)(number of rows)(number of tubes per row)
= (
= tube length
= number of rows
= number of tubes per row
∆ = difference between wall surface and exhaust gas temperatures
To calculate the outlet temperature , we consider energy balance as
follow:






∆ 2 18
Where = total mass flow rate, kg/s
= free-flow area just before tube bundle
The logarithmic mean temperature difference is used to determine ∆

∆ 2 19
ln /
Now from Eqs. (2-18) and (2-19), we obtain

2 20

Condensation rate
The rate of condensation associated with heat released defined as

2 21

where is the latent heat of condensation.

 15

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)

In this study, we use ANSYS-FLUENT 14.0 + GAMBIT 2.4.0. This CFD
codes are structured around the numerical algorithms that can be tackle fluid problems.
In order to provide easy access to their solving power all commercial CFD packages
include sophisticated user interfaces input problem parameters and to examine the
results. Hence all codes contain three main elements (Versteeg & Malalasekera, 2007)
as show in Figure 2-13:
1. Pre-processing.
2. Solver
3. Post-processing.

2.

1.

3.

Figure 2-13 CFD Modeling overview.

1. Pre-Processing:
This is the first step in building and analyzing a flow model. Preprocessor
consist of input of a flow problem by means of an operator friendly interface and
subsequent transformation of this input into form of suitable for the use by the solver.
The user activities at the Preprocessing stage involve:
1. Definition of the geometry of the region: The computational domain.
 16

2. Grid generation the subdivision of the domain into a number of smaller,

non-overlapping sub domains (or control volumes or elements Selection of physical or
chemical phenomena that need to be modeled).
3. Definition of fluid properties.
4. Specification of appropriate boundary conditions at cells, which coincide
with or touch the boundary. The solution of a flow problem (velocity, pressure,
temperature etc.) is defined at nodes inside each cell. The accuracy of CFD solutions is
governed by number of cells in the grid. In general, the larger numbers of cells, better
the solution accuracy. Both the accuracy of the solution & its cost in terms of necessary
computer hardware & calculation time are dependent on the fineness of the grid.
Efforts are underway to develop CFD codes with a (self) adaptive meshing capability.
Ultimately such programs will automatically refine the grid in areas of rapid variation.
GAMBIT (CFD PREPROCESSOR): GAMBIT is a state-of-the-art
preprocessor for engineering analysis. With advanced geometry and meshing tools in a
powerful, flexible, tightly-integrated, and easy-to use interface, GAMBIT can
dramatically reduce preprocessing times for many applications. Complex models can
be built directly within GAMBIT’s solid geometry modeler, or imported from any
major CAD/CAE system. Using a virtual geometry overlay and advanced cleanup
tools, imported geometries are quickly converted into suitable flow domains. A
comprehensive set of highly-automated and size function driven meshing tools ensures
that the best mesh can be generated, whether structured, multi-block, unstructured, or
hybrid.
2. Solver:
The CFD solver does the flow calculations and produces the results.
FLUENT, FloWizard, FIDAP, CFX and POLYFLOW are some of the types of solvers.
FLUENT is used in most industries. FloWizard is the first general-purpose rapid flow
modeling tool for design and process engineers built by Fluent. POLYFLOW (and
FIDAP) are also used in a wide range of fields, with emphasis on the materials
processing industries. FLUENT and CFX two solvers were developed independently by
ANSYS and have a number of things in common, but they also have some significant
differences. Both are control-volume based for high accuracy and rely heavily on a
pressure-based solution technique for broad applicability. They differ mainly in the
 17

way they integrate the fluid flow equations and in their equation solution strategies.
The CFX solver uses finite elements (cell vertex numerics), similar to those used in
mechanical analysis, to discretize the domain. In contrast, the FLUENT solver uses
finite volumes (cell centered numerics). CFD software focuses on one approach to
solve the governing equations of motion (coupled algebraic multigrid), while the
FLUENT product offers several solution approaches (density-, segregated- and coupled-
pressure-based methods).
3. Post-Processing:
This is the final step in CFD analysis, and it involves the organization and
interpretation of the predicted flow data and the production of CFD images and
animations. Fluent's software includes full post processing capabilities. FLUENT
exports CFD's data to third-party postprocessors and visualization tools such as Ensight,
Fieldview and TechPlot as well as to VRML formats. In addition, FLUENT CFD
solutions are easily coupled with structural codes such as ABAQUS, MSC and ANSYS,
as well as to other engineering process simulation tools.
Thus FLUENT is general-purpose computational fluid dynamics (CFD)
software ideally suited for incompressible and mildly compressible flows. Utilizing a
pressure-based segregated finite-volume method solver, FLUENT contains physical
models for a wide range of applications including turbulent flows, heat transfer, reacting
flows, chemical mixing, combustion, and multiphase flows. FLUENT provides
physical models on unstructured meshes, bringing you the benefits of easier problem
setup and greater accuracy using solution-adaptation of the mesh. FLUENT is a
computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software package to simulate fluid flow problems.
It uses the finite-volume method to solve the governing equations for a fluid. It
provides the capability to use different physical models such as incompressible or
compressible, inviscid or viscous, laminar or turbulent, etc. Geometry and grid
generation is done using GAMBIT which is the preprocessor bundled with FLUENT.
Owing to increased popularity of 19 engineering work stations, many of which has
outstanding graphics capabilities, the leading CFD are now equipped with versatile data
visualization tools. These include
1. Domain geometry & Grid display.
2. Vector plots.
 18

3. Line & shaded contour plots.

4. 2D & 3D surface plots.
5. Particle tracking.
6. View manipulation (translation, rotation, scaling etc.)

Mathematical models
Physical descriptions
Initially, the 3D geometry was created for the same dimension of heat
exchanger used in the test section as mentioned in the previous section. It is modeled
from mechanical design software (SolidWorks) and exported to STEP format in order
to be ready for the next step that importing to FLUENT software. The design of this
heat exchanger is based on ASME standard according to the geometry and dimension
indicated in Figure 2-14. It is consist of four tube bundles (in-line tube arrangement as
shown in Figure 2-15). The fluid flow is the cross-flow arrangement, the exhaust gas
and water flow at right angles to each other.

Figure 2-14 3D model and overview of fluid flow arrangement.

 19

Figure 2-15 In-line tube bundle.

Species Transport Model (STM)

In this study, the relatively simple of the species transport model (STM) is
employed and shown in Figure 2-16, for the simulation of the heat and mass transfer
in the test-rig. H2O vapor and H2O2 vapor in exhaust gas zone are condensed when
contact with cold surface of solid zone (tube wall). The condensation occurs in the
form of a smooth film, which, then, flows down the surface under the action of the
gravity. The presence of a liquid film over the solid zone constitutes a thermal
resistant to heat flow. Exhaust gas is represented by a mixture of three major species,
H2O2, H2O and air, with air is considered as non-condensable gas.

Figure 2-16 The species transport model.

 20

Governing equation
Basic governing equations
The governing equations for the mass, momentum and energy
conservation, and for and can be expressed as follows (Fluent, 2009):
Conservation of mass or continuity equation:

∙ 0 2 22

Conservation of Momentum:

∙ ∙ 2 23

where, is static pressure, and 0 .are the gravitational body force and
external body forces, respectively. The stress tensor is given by:
2
∙ 2 24
3
Conservation of Energy:

∙ ∙ ̿ ∙ 2 25

where, is the effective conductivity ( , where is the turbulent

thermal conductivity, defined according to the turbulence model being used), and is
the diffusion flux of species . The term is energy transfer due to conduction,

∑ is species diffusion, and ̿ ∙ is viscous dissipation. is a source term,

including the heat generated by the chemical reactions in the condensation model.

is the total energy given by where sensible enthalpy is defined as

∑ . is the mass fraction of species j and , where is

298.15 K.
Turbulence model
The standard - model is semi-empirical model based on model transport
equations for the turbulence kinetic energy ( ) and its dissipation rate ( ). It is
simplest "complete models'' of turbulence are two-equation models in which the
solution of two separate transport equations allows the turbulent velocity and length
 21

scales to be independently determined. The standard - model in FLUENT falls

within this class of turbulence model and has become the workhorse of practical
engineering flow calculations in the time since it was proposed by Launder and
Spalding (Launder & Spalding, 1972). Due to robustness, economy, and reasonable
accuracy for a wide range of turbulent flows this model gains its popularity in
industrial flow and heat transfer simulations. It is obtained from the following
equations:

2 26

2 27

where, represents the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to the mean
velocity gradients. is the generation of turbulence kinetic energy due to buoyancy.
represents the contribution of the fluctuating dilatation in compressible turbulence
to the overall dissipation rate. , and are constants. and are the
turbulent Prandtl numbers for and , respectively. and are user-defined source
terms. The turbulent (or eddy) viscosity, , is computed by combining and as
follows:

2 28

The empirical constants for the - model employs values have been
determined from experiments with air and water for fundamental turbulent shear flows
including homogeneous shear flows and decaying isotropic grid turbulence. They
have been found to work fairly well for a wide range of wall-bounded and free shear
flows.
 22

Although the default values of the model constants are the standard ones most widely
accepted (Fluent, 2009):
1.44 , 1.92 , 0.09 , 1.0 , 1.3
Condensation model
The condensation model is a mechanistic model, with a physical basis. It
is available with the mixture and Eulerian multiphase models. The liquid-vapor mass
transfer (condensation) is governed by the vapor transport equation:

∙ → 2 29

where is vapor phase, is vapor volume fraction, is vapor density, is

vapor phase velocity and → is the rate of mass transfer due to condensation has
unit of / / .
Based on the following temperature regime , the mass transfer can be
described as follows:

→ 2 30

where is saturation temperature and is vapor temperature. The source term

for the energy equation can be obtained by multiplying the rate of mass transfer by the
latent heat.
Consider the Hertz Knudsen formula, which gives the condensation flux
( .) based on the kinetic theory for a flat interface:

.
∗
2 31
2

where, the condensation mass flux . has unit of / / . The factor is

defined by means of the accommodation coefficient that shows the portion of vapor
molecules going into the liquid surface and adsorbed by this surface. approaches
1.0 at near equilibrium conditions. is the molecular weight and is the universal
∗
gas constant and is saturation pressure. is vapor partial pressure at interface
on the gas side. The Clapeyron-Clausius equation relates the pressure to the
temperature for the saturation condition:
 23

2 32

where is the latent heat (J/kg), is the temperature, and are the inverse of
the density of the gas and liquid (volume per mass unit) respectively.
Based on this differential expression, we can obtain variation of temperature from
variation of pressure close to the saturation condition.
The Clausius Clapeyron equation yields the following formula as long as
∗ ∗
vapor partial pressure and vapor partial temperature are closed to the saturation
condition:

∗ ∗
2 33

Using this relation in the above Hertz Knudsen equation yields:

.
∗
2 34
2

where, the condensation mass flux . has unit of / / . The factor is

defined by means of the accommodation coefficient that shows the portion of vapor
molecules going into the liquid surface and adsorbed by this surface. approaches
1.0 at near equilibrium conditions. is the molecular weight and is the universal
∗
gas constant and is saturation pressure. is vapor partial pressure at interface
on the gas side. The Clapeyron-Clausius equation relates the pressure to the
temperature for the saturation condition:

.
∗
2 35
2

where, the condensation mass flux . has unit of / / . The factor is

defined by means of the accommodation coefficient that shows the portion of vapor
molecules going into the liquid surface and adsorbed by this surface. approaches
1.0 at near equilibrium conditions. is the molecular weight and is the universal
∗
gas constant and is saturation pressure. is vapor partial pressure at interface
on the gas side. The Clapeyron-Clausius equation relates the pressure to the
temperature for the saturation condition:
 24

∗
. 236
2

Mass fraction equations

The multi-species transport which occurs in the H2O2-air vapor mixture is
modeled using the following equation:

∙ 237

Where, is mass fraction of the species being calculated, is the diffusion flux of
species which arises due to gradients of concentration and temperature. is the net
rate of production of species by chemical reaction and is the rate of creation by
addition from the dispersed phase plus any defined sources ( 0 in this study).
Model assumptions and boundary conditions
The assumptions are considered for heat exchanger model as follow:
1. The heat exchanger operates under steady-state conditions (constant
flowrates and fluid temperatures).
2. Heat losses to or from the surroundings are negligible that the heat
exchanger outside walls are adiabatic.
3. There are no thermal energy sources or sinks in the exchanger walls or
fluids, such as electric heating, chemical reaction, or nuclear processes.
4. The temperature of each fluid is uniform over every cross section.
5. Wall thermal resistance is distributed uniformly in the entire exchanger.
6. Longitudinal heat conduction in the fluids and in the wall is negligible.
7. The individual and overall heat transfer coefficients are constant.
8. The specific heat of each fluid is constant throughout the exchanger, so
that the heat capacity rate on each side is treated as constant.
9. The heat transfer surface area A is distributed uniformly on each fluid
side.
10. The velocity and temperature at the entrance of the heat exchanger on
each fluid side are uniform over the flow cross section.
11. The fluid flow rate is uniformly distributed through the exchanger on
each fluid side in each pass.
 25

Boundary conditions specify the flow and thermal variables on the

boundaries of the physical domain. Figure 2-17 shows the boundary condition utilized
in this study.

Figure 2-17 Boundary conditions.

The exhaust gas inlet to the test-rig is controlled at velocity , = 3.6 m/s,
temperature , = 45°C, outlet pressure , = 1 atm. With such conditions the
typical compositions of the vapor mixture at the inlet represented in mass fraction of
each species are , = 32.6%, , = 4.5%, = 62.9%. The direction of
the inlet vapor mixture velocity is in x-direction. The inlet velocity was calculated
from dividing the volume flow rate by the square channel inlet cross-sectional area.
At the outlet, the pressure boundary condition is specified as a constant value that
equals to zero gauge pressure. This is the case for the vapor mixture outlet channel.
The cold water inlet pressure ( , ) is set at 1.5 bar and temperature is controlled at
four difference temperatures ( , ) at 10°C, 15°C, 20°C and 25°C with three
difference flow rate ( , ) at 4 litre/min., 7.5 litre/min. and 11 litre/min. The
direction of the inlet cold water velocity is in cross-flow direction with vapor mixture.
The inlet velocity was, also, calculated as previously indicated. At the outlet, the
pressure boundary condition is specified as a constant value equal to zero gauge
pressure. This is the case for the cooling water outlet channel. Adiabatic wall
boundary condition is used to bound fluid and solid regions. It is defined mass and
momentum option is no slip wall, smooth wall roughness and adiabatic heat transfer
are also used.
 26

Numerical computations
Numerical methods
In this paper, the commercial code FLUENT is adopted to simulate the flow
and heat transfer in the computational model. The governing equations (Fluent, 2009)
are discretized by the finite volume method. PRESTO scheme was used for pressure
treatment. The third-order QUICK scheme was used for mass fraction, and the
second-order upwind for both momentum and energy equations. The SIMPLE
algorithm was used for the velocity-pressure coupling. The condensation model
proposed in this study was implemented by a user defined function (UFD). The
convergence monitoring, residual levels were set to 10-6 for all variables (continuity,
momentum and energy equations). Computations were stopped when all residuals
become unchanged with iterations.
Computation mesh
There are 4 domains were prepared in STEP format which consist of housing
Domain, cooling pipe domain, cooling water domain and exhaust gas domain. It is
continued with mesh generating in Gambit software as show in the Figure 2-18. A
fine structured mesh is placed around cylinders to help resolve boundary layer flow.
Unstructured mesh is used for the remaining fluid areas (Inc, 2005).

Figure 2-18 Grid generation around cold water tubes.

 27

Prism geometric pattern was made as the grid structure. Grid independent
study was performed by comparing the solutions of different grid levels applied the
geometry in order to ensure the results accuracy. Figure 2-19 presents the variation of
heat transfer rate of difference cold water flow rate and temperature against the grid
numbers. At stage A, the results are varying with grid resolution. At stage B, the
results trend towards constant that the total number of mesh has to be more than
1,000,000 elements. Stage B is shown grid independent. Therefore, the total number
of mesh for this study was created with 10,316,277 elements to ensure the simulated
results are grid independent.

Figure 2-19 Grid independence test.

 28

Related research
There are a few studies of heat transfer on tube bank without phase changes.
Iacovides co-workers studied a comparison and assessment of approaches for
modelling flow over in-line tube banks by applying alternative strategies for
modelling turbulent flow and local heat-transfer coefficients around in-line tube
banks(Iacovides, Launder, & West, 2014). Kim studied effect of longitudinal pitch on
convective heat transfer in crossflow over in-line tube banks by using a CFD model to
investigate the effect of the longitudinal pitch on the single-phase heat transfer
characteristics (Kim, 2013). Li and He studied numerical investigation of the
turbulent cross flow and heat transfer in a wall bounded tube bundle in order to
analyze average flow and heat transfer characteristics (Li, Wu, & He, 2014). Odabaee
and Hooman studied metal foam heat exchangers for heat transfer augmentation from
a tube bank including the free stream velocity, longitudinal and transversal tube pitch,
metal foam thickness and characteristics of the foam on heat and fluid flow are
examined (Odabaee & Hooman, 2012). Han and co-workers studied the parameter of
tube bundle heat exchangers for fouling rate reduction by using numerical model to
predict the flue-ash particle deposition rate by considering particles transport, sticking
and rebound behaviors based on the software FLUENT (Han, et al. 2014). Yaïci
studied 3D CFD analysis of the effect of inlet air flow maldistribution on the fluid
flow and heat transfer performances of plate-fin-and-tube laminar heat exchangers in
order to investigate the effect of inlet air flow distribution on the thermo-hydraulic
performance of heat exchangers (Yaïci, Ghorab, & Entchev, 2014).
According to searching information from the past up to now, there were
many researchers study in heat transfer condensation (Lan, Wen, Wang, & Ma, 2013;
Vomela, 1997; Kholpanov, 1998; Rifert, 2002; Shekriladze, 1999; Buz & Smirnov,
1998; Liu, Sunden, & Yuan, 2012). There are a few studies on phase change
condensation. Cheng-Xian Lin (Lin, Wang, & Bao, 2013) studied numerical modeling
and simulation of condensation heat transfer of a flue gas (water vapor mixture with
CO2, O2 and N2). There was only one condensable species H2O studied in this paper.
The developed multi-species transport model was able to predict the flue gas heat and
mass transfer in the tube bundle with fairly good accuracy. The heat and mass
 29

depletion levels decrease with the increase of the flue gas Reynolds number. S.
Mimouni (Mimouni, Foissac, & Lavieville, 2011) studied CFD modelling of wall
steam condensation by a two-phase flow approach in order to contribute to the
understanding of the heat and mass transfer mechanisms involved in the problem. G.
Zschaeck (Zschaeck, Frank, & Burns, 2014) studied CFD modelling and validation of
wall condensation in the presence of non-condensable gases in order to validate a
mathematical model implemented in ANSYS CFD for the simulation of wall
condensation in the presence of non-condensable substances. Zhixiang Zhao (Zhao,
Li, Wang, Liu, & Zheng, 2014) investigated on flow and heat transfer characteristics of
ambient air condensation on a horizontal cryogenic tube by using a newly built
mathematical model, in which the liquid film and the vapor boundary layer are
coupled together with a major emphasis on the effect of buoyancy
 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

Experimental Apparatus
In order to proceed this study, we need the following equipment and
computational software to detect and analyze the experimental data as the following:
Condensation test-rig
Test-rig with cross flow heat exchanger is presented in Figure 3-1. The
exhaust gas consists of three species, H2O2, H2O and air, is generated (3). It is fed
through heat exchanger (1) by suction blower (2). Cooling unit (5) supplies cold
water to the heat exchanger. The resulted condensable H2O2 and H2O flow down and
is collected in the bucket (4).

Figure 3-1 Test-rig.

Schematic diagram of the test section of H2O2 condensation is shown in

Figure 3-2 and consists of a 1.5 m long horizontal square duct chamber of 200 x 200
mm2 with entry grill and baffle plates, stainless steel material (No.2). Hot fluid,
H2O2–air vapor mixture generator (No.1) supplies vapor for the test section through
the inlet pipe. Suction blower (No.5) is connected to the outlet chamber and sucks the
vapor through out the outlet exhaust pipe (No.6). The hot vapor is suck with zigzag
 31

cross-flow through four bundles cooling in-line tube arrangement outside diameter of
18mm, tube thickness 1.0 mm, 115 mm long, transverse and longitudinal pitch of 25
mm, total 32 tubes in one bundle and material is stainless steel (No.3). The baffle
plate between each tube bundle plays a crucial role in regulating hot exhaust gas flow
and improves heat transfer between hot exhaust gases and cooling water in tube
bundles. The holes at inlet and outlet position of the chamber provide the access of
tools to measure the temperature, pressure, velocity and concentration (No.9). The
cooling unit supplies cold water from a 57 liters water tank (No.8). The pressurized
and control flow rate controlled by a pump and a control valve (No.11), respectively.
It is connected to the inlet stainless steel pipe (No.10) with outside diameter of 33.7
mm. and 2.6 mm. thickness. The sensors (No.12) are installed at inlet and outlet pipe
to measure temperature, pressure and flow rate. The condensate liquid is dropped
down from each tube bundle to the collection tray (No.4) and, then, flows down to
collection tank (7).

Figure 3-2 H2O2 Condensation test section.

 32

Cooling water is fed through 4 bundle tubes in series connection flow and
return back to the water tank. Condensation is occurred at the cooling tube surface
due to the heat exchanging during the cross flow that the cold fluid takes out the heat
from hot fluid until the temperature is lower than the saturated temperature. Condensate
fluid is, then, dropped to the bottom tray (No.4) and flowed down to the collection tank
(No.7).
The inlet of exhaust gas is fed in with the velocity of 3.6 m./s. (calculated
from 90 m3/hrs based on cross sectional area of the inlet pipe), temperature 45 °C and
at one atmospheric pressure. The exhaust gas compositions at the inlet are , =
32.6%, , = 4.5%, = 62.9%. The cold water inlet pressure is 1.5 bar and
studied in four difference temperatures at 10 °C, 15 °C, 20 °C and 25 °C and at three
difference flow rates of 4 litre/min., 7.5 litre/min., and 11 litre/min.. The velocity
direction of the cold water inlet is in cross-flow direction with exhaust gas
Measuring tools
We use fixed gas detector (Dreager Polytron 7000) as shown in Figure
3-3. It is a gas detector that can satisfy H2O2 concentration measurement applications
on a single platform up to 1,000 ppm. range.

Figure 3-3 Fixed gas detector (Dreager Polytron 7000).

 33

We use KIMO MP200, as shown in the Figure 3-4, to measure the flow rate,
pressure and temperature. The details are:
Functions: Pressure, Velocity, Airflow, Air quality (CO/temperature) 8,000
measuring points DATALOGGER software (option).
Pressure: 5 interchangeable modules :
0 from ±500 Pa
0 from ± 2500 Pa
0 from ±10000 mmH2O
0 from ±500 mBar
0 from ±2000 mBar
Pilot tube velocity: 2 from 100 m/s
Temperature:
Thermocouple K: -200 to +1300°C
Thermocouple J: -100 to +750°C
Thermocouple T: -200 to +400°C
 

Figure 3-4 Measuring tool for flow speed, pressure and temperature (KIMO MP200).
 34

Computer hardware
In order to run CAD and CFD simulation in this study, we use computer
model LenovoW510 with CPU i7-820QM(1.73GHz), 24GB RAM, 320GB 7200 rpm
hard-disk and operating system Windows 7 (64 bits). In this study, every simulation
case takes approximately 200 hours for the converged solutions.
CAD and CFD software
In this study we use the following softwares:
1. CAD software (SolidWorks) is used to create 3D model of each domain.
2. GAMBIT software is used to mesh 3D models for computational fluid
dynamics (CFD). 3D models of each domain from SolidWorks are imported into
GAMBIT.
3. ANSYS Fluent software is used to compute and simulate the heat transfer,
condensation rate and concentration rate. Meshing model from GAMBIT is imported
into ANSYS Fluent.
CAD model
CAD model of cross flow heat exchanger based on test-rig model as show in
Figure 3-5. It is created in CAD software (SolidWorks) and save out in format of
*.STEP file in order to import into GAMBIT software.

Figure 3-5 CAD model of cross flow heat exchanger based on the test-rig.
 35

Experimental procedure
The experiments have been carried out by design simulation in CFD and test-
rig testing as shown in Figure 3-6.

Figure 3-6 Flowchart of experimental procedure.

 36

First, the heat exchanger is designed and calculated based on heat transfer
techniques. Then, the 3D model is created according to the results of heat transfer
calculation. The 3D model is imported to CFD software for analysis the results of
mass depletion or condensation of H2O2 and H2O. After that, the heat exchanger has
will be built according to the 3D model and is installed in the test-rig which can
generate the flow conditions as those in the CFD. There are 12 experiments needed to
be tested with difference conditions of exhaust gas inlet temperature, cold water
temperatures and cold water flow rates as show in the Table 3-1 below. Finally, the
results of test-rig data and CFD are compared for the error. If the error is acceptable,
then, we will purpose this CFD model as a design reference in the other configurations
of condensation heat exchanger.

Table 3-1 Condition of the test-rig.

No. of Exhaust gas Cold water Cold water

Experiment temperature (C°) temperature (C°) flow rate (l/min)
1 45 10 4.0
2 45 15 4.0
3 45 20 4.0
4 45 25 4.0
5 45 10 7.5
6 45 15 7.5
7 45 20 7.5
8 45 25 7.5
9 45 10 11.0
10 45 15 11.0
11 45 20 11.0
12 45 25 11.0
 CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Model validation
Model validation study has been carried out by using the experimental data
comparing with computational results. Table 4-1 shows the comparison of the average
values of water exit temperature, exhaust gas exit temperature, and exhaust gas exit
mass fraction of H2O and H2O2 obtained from the experimental work and the
computational model (species transport model, STM). The cases A is for very large
condensation rate and the case B is for very small condensation rates.

Table 4-1 Comparison between experimental and computational results

Case A Case B
Error Error
Exp. STM Exp. STM
(%) (%)
Exhaust gas exit temperature (°C) 31.4 33.0 5.1 37.7 38.8 2.9
Cooling water exit temperature (°C) 20.8 21.8 4.8 32.6 31.0 -4.9
H2O vapor exit mass fraction (%) 2.12 2.24 5.7 2.64 2.49 -5.6
H2O2 vapor exit mass fraction (%) 0.26 0.25 -3.4 0.24 0.26 8.5
H2O condensation rate (kg/h) 3.82 4.10 7.3 2.32 2.20 -5.2
H2O2 condensation rate (kg/h) 0.84 0.80 -4.8 0.64 0.60 -6.3
H2O2 concentration in condense liquid
17.1 16.1 -5.8 24.4 25.2 3.3
(%)
Case A conditions: , = 1 ATM, , = 45°C, , = 4.5%, , = 32.6%, , = 3.6 m/s,

, = 10°C, , = 4 l/min.
Case B conditions: , = 1 ATM, , = 45°C, , = 4.5%, , = 32.6%, , = 3.6 m/s,

, = 25°C, , = 11 l/min.

The cold water temperature ( , ) and flow rate ( , ) for case A and B are
10 °C, 25 °C and 4 liter/min., 11 liter/min., respectively. Within the error ranges of -6.3
to 8.5%, this errors may come from the CFD simulation that the results are never 100%
 38

reliable because the input data may involve too much guessing or imprecision, the
mathematical model of the problem at hand may be inadequate and the accuracy of the
results is limited by the available computing power. Therefore, the error from both
cases are acceptable for this study.

Reynolds number and convection Nusselt number

Figure 4-1 shows Reynolds number which defined as the ratioes of inertial
forces to viscous forces and Nusselt number of cold water which represents for the
ratioes of convective to conductive heat transfer across the boundary. The Reynolds
number of cold water flow rate from main inlet pipe ( , ) at 4 liter/min., 7.5
liter/min., 11 liter/min. are 172, 323 and 474 respectively. These three flows are the
laminar flow since Reynolds number is less than 2,300 and the graph is proportional
rising with the cold water flow rate. With the corresponding conditions, the Nusselt
number is 10.2, 12.7 and 14.7, respectively, that the graph is increased to with the
curve downward trend. Such behavior indicates that; the heat transfer trend is
proportionally increased with the Reynolds number.

Figure 4-1 Reynolds number and Nusselt number of cold water.

 39

Temperature fields
Figure 4-2 shows the typical temperature fields of exhaust gas on the complete
model and at the middle plane of the STM module of exhaust gas inlet velocity u , =
3.6 m/s, cold water inlet Raynolds number of 474 at temperature of 10°C. As can be
seen from the figure, hot exhaust gas temperature reduces very fast after passing the
first bundle tube and slightly reduces through the following bundle tubes. For the
exhaust gas temperature of the other cold water conditions was considered only the exit
temperature as shown in the graph of Figure 4-3.

Figure 4-2 Temperature field of exhaust gas

(Conditions: u , = 3.6 m/s, = 11 liter/min., = 10°C).

Figure 4-3 shows the temperature profile of exhaust gas and cold water in
difference inlet cold water flow rate. Temperature of the exhaust gas is reduced when it
passes through the cross-flow bundle tube from inlet to outlet direction. The water
temperature is increased continuously from the inlet through the outlet direction. The
trends of both temperatures are consistent with the basic heat transfer theory while the
heat transfers from hot fluid to cold fluid. In addition, cold water temperature also
increases when the cold water flow rate is increased. Such trends indicate that the
 40

Reynold number and the Nusselt number will be increased accordingly. As a result, the
average heat transfer coefficient of internal and external flow will be increased which is
consistent with Eq. 2-6 and Eq. 2-15.

Figure 4-3 Exit temperature of cold water and exhaust gas in STM.

Heat transfer
Figure 4-4 shows the heat transported rates from the exhaust gas to the cold
water. This heat loss is expressed in the amount of heat that will be lost in an applicable
unit (kW). The trend of heat transfer rate is decreased when the inlet cold water
temperature is increased and the flow rate decreased.
 41

Figure 4-4 Heat transfer rate profile in STM.

The STM results are consistent with the heat transfer rate ( ) that calculated
from , , . From this equation, the heat transfer rate is reduced
when the mass flow rate is reduced or inlet cold water temperature , is
increased and causes the temperature reduction between inlet and outlet cold
water , , .
Figure 4-5 shows the results of overall heat transfer coefficient at different
cooling water conditions through a tube wall. The heat transfer coefficient is depends
on the fluids and their properties on both sides of the cooling wall, the properties of the
wall, and the transmission surface. The trend of overall heat transfer coefficient is
increased when cold water flow rate increases. Because the Nusselt number is
proportional to the flow rate of cold water. There is not so much overall heat transfer
coefficient increased when cooling water temperature increases because of the increase
in thermal conductivity with small changes in Nusselt number.
 42

Figure 4-5 Average heat transfer coefficient at difference cooling water conditions.

Condensation mass flux

Figure 4-6 shows the typical condensation mass flux of H2O2 vapor in the
complete STM model around cooling tube area. The condensation rate is high at the
first tube bundle and slightly reduces in the subsequence tube bundles. The average
condensation mass flux of H2O2 and H2O at several condition of the cooling water is
shown in Figure 4-7.

Figure 4-6 Average condensation mass flux

(Conditions: u , = 3.6 m/s, = 11 liter/min., = 10°C).
 43

Figure 4-7 shows the effects of cold water temperature and flow rate on the
average condensation mass flux which is the mass of condensable vapor in kilogram per
second per unit area of the heat transfer surface in the proposed model. The average
condensation mass flux is plotted against the cold water temperature and flow rate
which clearly indicates that at lower water inlet temperature the heat exchanges from
exhaust gas to the cooling water is better than at higher inlet water temperature. The
effect of cooling water flow rate on the amount of heat exchange is also increase while
increasing the cooling water flowrate (Reynolds number). However, such increase
becomes less at higher Reynolds number.

Figure 4-7 Average condensation mass flux in STM.

Mass fraction and condensation rate fields

Figure 4-8 shows the typical mass fraction fields or contours of H2O2 vapor in
complete STM model of exhaust gas at any inlet velocity , and at any flow rate of
cold water inlet. Similar to the temperature fields, the mass fraction of H2O2 in exhaust
 44

gas input of 0.31 is reduced quickly in the first tube bundle and slightly reduces in the
following tube bundles. According to this mass fraction reduction, it is clearly indicated
that the exhaust gas temperature is lower due to the heat removal as the exhaust gas
passed through the tube bundles. Again, the large drop of H2O2 mass fraction at the first
tube bundle and slightly drops through the subsequence tube bundle are consistent with
the test-rig results of exhaust gas temperature drop in Figure 4.4.

Figure 4-8 H2O2 mass fraction (at u , = 3.6 m/s, = 11 liter/min., = 10°C).

Figure 4-9 shows the effects of temperature and flow rate of cooling water on
the remaining condensable components in the exhaust gas passing through the test-rig.
This figure is based on the exhaust gas volume flow rate of 90 m3/hr. with the
percentage of H2O2:H2O:air as 4.5%:32.6%:62.9% or the mass flow rate of 4.17, 20.12
and 56.50 kg/hr., respectively. It is clear that the H2O2 and H2O in the exhaust gas at
the outlet of the test-rig is less than those at the inlet. Both H2O2 and H2O condense
more at low temperature and at high flow rate of cooling water.
 45

Figure 4-9 Exit mass percents of H2O2 and H2O in exhaust gas.

Figure 4-10 shows the percentages of mass reduction of H2O2 and H2O caused
by the temperature and flow rate of cooling water. At flow rate of 4 and 7.5 liter/min.,
the mass reduction of H2O2 is greater than that of the H2O for all cooing water
temperature. This can be inferred that lower cooling water flow rate is preferable for
separation of H2O2 from the exhaust gas. However, at cooling water flow rate of 11
liter/min., there is the interchange between the amount of mass reduction of H2O2 and
H2O at 15 °C of the cooling water. Such phenomena should depend on various factors.
They are the composition, temperature and flow rate of the exhaust gas and the most
important parameter is the test-rig configuration. More investigate must be explored to
understand and control the slope of lines in this figure for separation efficiency and
economy aspects.
 46

Figure 4-10 Mass depletion of H2O2 and H2O from exhaust gas vapor.

Figure 4-11 illustrates prediction of CFD on condensation rate. The trend of

condensation rate is consistent with the theory. It is aligned with the trend of mass flux
and mass fraction of H2O and H2O2. The condensation rate is increased when the
temperature decreases and flowrate increases.

Figure 4-11 Total condensation rates of mixing species H2O2 and H2O.
 47

Table 4-2 shows the condensation rate of H2O2 and H2O at difference
temperatures and Reynolds numbers. Condensation rates of both species are reduced
when cold water inlet temperature increased and Reynolds number decreased. Figure
4-12, shows information from Table 2, indicates that the higher condensation rate can
be achieved by lowering the temperature or increasing the flow rate of cooling water.
The lower the temperature and the higher the flow rate of cooling water, the higher of
condensation will be obtained.

Table 4-2 Condensation rate of each species H2O2 and H2O

Cold water Condensation rate of H2O2 (kg/h) Condensation rate of H2O (kg/h)
inlet Cold Cold Cold Cold Cold Cold
temperature water water water water water water
(°C) (Re= 172) (Re= 323) (Re= 474) (Re= 172) (Re= 323) (Re= 474)
10 0.78 1.04 1.31 4.09 4.89 5.08
15 0.72 0.95 1.23 3.46 4.13 4.25
20 0.69 0.93 1.17 2.79 3.30 3.39
25 0.65 0.89 1.06 2.13 2.50 2.59

Figure 4-12 Condensation rate of each species H2O2 and H2O.

 48

Concentration rate fields

Figure 4-13 shows the CFD result of H2O2 concentration in condensed liquid.
Again, the trend of H2O2 concentration is higher when the temperature and flow rate of
cooling water increases. It is consistent with condensation rate of each species in Figure
4-12 that H2O regarding mixing ratioes between these 2 species.

Figure 4-13 H2O2 concentrations in condensed liquid.

 CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSIONS

Upon the analysis and comparision of both informations resulted from the
test-rig and from the tree-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD) based
modeling which are discussed in the previous section, the following conclusions can
be drawn :
1. The model provides results agreed to the experimental data with the errors
within the ranges of -6.3 to 8.5 percents which is acceptable for this investigation.
2. The heat exchanges between exhaust gas and cooling water can be
concluded as the following:
2.1 The exhaust gas temperature decreases from 45°C to 33°C and 30.5°C
while cooling water temperature increases from 10°C to 15°C and 21°C at Reynolds
number of inlet cooling water at 474 and 172, respectively.
2.2 The overall heat transfer rate is increased as the cooling water inlet
flow rate increases and as the cooling water temperature decreases. The heat transfer
rate is in the range of 1.6 to 3.9 KW and the ranges of overall heat transfer coefficient
are in between 115 and 134 W/m2K.
3. The dependency of condensation rate and concentration of condensate
from exhaust gas on Reynolds number and temperature of cooling water are:
3.1 The maximum condensation rate of 6.4 kg/h is achieved at Reynolds
number of 474 at 10°C while the minimum condensation rate of 2.8 kg/h is resulted at
Reynolds number of 172 at 25°C.
3.2 The maximum H2O2 concentration rate occurred at Reynolds number
474 at 25°C which concentration is 33% while the minimum H2O2 concentration rate
occurred at Reynolds number 172 at 10°C which concentration is 16%.
4. A new simulation model represented the heat transfer has been developed.
Such model shall be an effective base for further experimental design to improve the
removal of H2O2 or others chemical species from the exhaust gas, in general.
 50

Recommendations
The following recommendations are offered for improving the heat transfer
efficiency of this study.
1. The staggered arrangement gives higher heat transfer rates than the in-line
arrangement. However, any arrangement is critically depended on the overall pressure
drop in the heat exchanger as well as the ease of the heat exchanger cleaning
procedurere.
2. Heat transfer can be improved by increasing the degree of mixing of the
cooling water. Finned tube can induces mixing and causes higher Reynolds number
that minimize the boundary layer which is the resistant to heat transfer.
3. Modification of the tube surface by selective coating chemicals. Certain
nanostructure coatings will enhance the heat transfer coefficient or increase heat
dissipation rate more than the uncoated surfaces.
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APPENDIX
 55

APPENDIX A
THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF FLUIDS
 56

1. Water Liquid
The following correlations are based on data from (Holman, 1992). The
properties are valid from 0 °C to 288°C.
Thermal Conductivity (W/m K)
0.5661 0.002048 1.0205 10 1.1897 10 (A-1)
Specific Heat (kJ/kg K)
exp 1.4423 8.4025 10 1.41 10 7.3846 10
1.4856 10 (A-2)
Density (kg/m3)
1002.6 0.2177 0.0020099 1.6478 10 (A-3)
Dynamic Viscosity (kg/m s)
exp 6.3933 0.026299 9.7341 10 1.3986 10 (A-4)
2. Water Vapour
The following correlations are based on data from (Holman, 1992). The
properties are valid from 0 °C to 200°C.
Thermal Conductivity (W/m K)
0.017071 5.3617 10 2.322 10 3.8962 10 (A-5)
Specific Heat (kJ/kg K)
1.8653 1.0881 10 4.4902 10 1.0183 10 (A-6)
Density (kg/m3)
0.8034 0.0029 0.00000936 1.857 10 (A-7)
Dynamic Viscosity (kg/m3)
10 9.1445 0.029257 1.9067 10 (A-8)
3. Dry Air
The following correlations are based on data from (Holman, 1992). The
properties are valid from 0 °C to 400°C.
Thermal Conductivity (W/m K)
0.02428 6.939 10 2.515 10 7.194 10 (A-9)
Specific Heat (kJ/kg K)
1.005 1.473 10 7.002 10 6.846 10 (A-10)
 57

Density (kg/m3)
101.325/ 0.287 273.15 (A-11)
Dynamic Viscosity (kg/m s)
10 13.29 0.0879 0.0001029 3.749 10 (A-12)
4. Hydrogen Peroxide Liquid
The following correlations are based on data from (Chemical Properties
Handbook, 1998). The properties are valid from 0 °C to 384°C.
Thermal Conductivity (W/m K)
log 0.4425 1.8406 10 1 /3.8824 10 (A-13)
Specific Heat (kJ/kg K)
15.248 6.7693 10 1.4948 10 1.2018 10 (A-14)
Density (kg/m3)
/ . .
0.43776 0.24982 (A-15)
Dynamic Viscosity (kg/m s)
log 1.6150 5.0380 10 / 3.5010 10 1.1680 10 (A-16)
5. Hydrogen Peroxide Gas
The following correlations are based on data from (Chemical Properties
Handbook, 1998). The properties are valid from 0 °C to 384°C.
Thermal Conductivity (W/m K)
0.00858 8.6933 10 6.2970 10 (A-17)
Specific Heat (kJ/kg K)
36.181 8.2657 10 6.6420 10 6.9944 10 2.0951
10 (A-18)
Dynamic Viscosity (kg/m s)
8.039 2.7000 10 8.2900 10 (A-19)