Condensation

Chapter 10
Sections 10.6 through 10.11
General Considerations

General Considerations
• Heat transfer to a surface occurs by condensation when the surface temperature
is less than the saturation temperature of an adjoining vapor.

• Film Condensation
 Entire surface is covered by the
condensate, which flows
continuously from the surface
and provides a resistance to heat
transfer between the vapor and the
surface.
 Thermal resistance is reduced through use of short vertical surfaces
and horizontal cylinders.

 Characteristic of clean, uncontaminated surfaces.

• Dropwise Condensation
 Surface is covered by drops ranging from
a few micrometers to agglomerations visible
to the naked eye.
General Considerations (cont).

 Thermal resistance is greatly reduced due to absence of a continuous film.

 Surface coatings may be applied to inhibit wetting and stimulate

dropwise condensation.
Film Condensation: Vertical Plates

Film Condensation on a Vertical Plate

• Distinguishing Features
 Thickness  and flow rate  m of
condensate increase with increasing x
 Generally, the vapor is superheated
Tv,  Tsat  and may be part of a mixture
that includes noncondensibles.
 A shear stress at the liquid/vapor
interface induces a velocity gradient
in the vapor, as well as the liquid.

• Nusselt Analysis for Laminar Flow

Assumptions:
 A pure vapor at Tsat .

 Negligible shear stress at liquid/vapor interface.

 u 0
y y 
Vertical Plates (cont)

 Negligible advection in the film. Hence, the steady-state x-momentum

and energy equations for the film are
 2u  1 p  X
y 2 l x l

 2T  0
y 2

 The boundary layer approximation, p / y  0, may be applied to the film.

Hence,
p dp
  v g
x dx

 Solutions to momentum and energy equations

Film thickness:
1/ 4
 4kl l Tsat  Ts  x 
  x   
g 
 l l     v  h fg 
Vertical Plates (cont)

Flow rate per unit width:

g 
m l l
    v   3

b 3l

Average Nusselt Number:

1/ 4
h LL
  g      h L3

Nu L   0.943  l l v fg

kl   l k l  Tsat  T s  
hfg  h fg 1  0.68 Ja 

c p Tsat  Ts 
Ja   Jakob number
h fg

Total heat transfer and condensation rates:

q  h L A Tsat  Ts 

q
m
hfg
Vertical Plates (cont)

• Effects of Turbulence:
 Transition may occur in the film and three flow regimes may be identified
and delineated in terms of a Reynolds number defined as
4 l um
Re  4  4 m 
l l b l
Vertical Plates (cont)

 Wave-free laminar region  Re  30  :

h L  l2 / g 
1/ 3

 1.47 Re-1/3 (10.37)

kl
4 g l  l   v   3
Re 
3l2

 Wavy laminar region  30  Re  1800  :

h L  l2 / g 
1/ 3
Re
 (10.38)
kl 1.08 Re1.22
  5.2

 Turbulent region  Re >1800  :

h L  l2 / g 
1/ 3
Re

8750 +58 Pr -0.5  Re0.75  253
(10.39)
kl
Vertical Plates (cont)

 Calculation procedure:
– Assume a particular flow regime and use the corresponding expression for
h L (Eq. 10.37, 10.38 or 10.39) to determine Re .

– If value of Re is consistent with assumption, proceed to determination of

q and m .

– If value of Re is inconsistent with the assumption, recompute its value

using a different expression for h L and proceed to determination of
q and m .
Film Condensation: Radial Systems

Film Condensation on Radial Systems

• A single tube or sphere:

1/ 4
 g l  l    kl3hfg 
hD  C  
  l  Tsat  Ts  D 
Tube: C =0.729 Sphere: C=0.826
Film Condensation: Radial Systems (cont).

• A vertical tier of N tubes:

 
1/ 4
 g l l   k 3hfg 

h D , N  0.729  l

 N  l  Tsat  Ts  D 

 Why does h D , N decrease with increasing N?

 How is heat transfer affected if the continuous sheets (c) breakdown and the
condensate drips from tube to tube (d)?

 What other effects influence heat transfer?

Film Condensation: Internal Flow

Film Condensation for a Vapor Flow in a Horizontal Tube

• If vapor flow rate is small, condensate flow is circumferential and axial:

  um, D 
Re ,i    35, 000 :
  i
1/ 4
 g l  l    kl3hfg 
h D  0.555  
  l  Tsat  Ts  D 

hfg  h fg  0.375 Tsat  Ts 

• For larger vapor velocities, flow is principally

in the axial direction and characterized by
two-phase annular conditions.
Dropwise Condensation

Dropwise Condensation
• Steam condensation on copper surfaces:

q  hdc A Tsat  Ts 

h dc  51100
,  2044 Tsat 22 C<Tsat  100 C

hdc  255,500 Tsat  100 C

Problem: Condensation on a Vertical Plate

Problem 10.48 a,b: Condensation and heat rates per unit width for saturated
steam at 1 atm on one side of a vertical plate at 54˚C if
(a) the plate height is 2.5m and (b) the height is halved.

KNOWN: Vertical plate 2.5 m high at a surface temperature T s = 54C exposed to steam at
atmospheric pressure.

FIND: (a) Condensation and heat transfer rates per unit width, (b) Condensation and heat rates if
the height were halved.

SCHEMATIC:

ASSUMPTIONS: (1) Film condensation, (2) Negligible non-condensables in steam.

Problem: Condensation on a Vertical Plate (cont)

PROPERTIES: Table A-6, Water, vapor (1 atm): Tsat = 100C, v = 0.596 kgm3, hfg = 2257
kJkg; Table A-6, Water, liquid (Tf = (100  54)C2 = 350 K):   973.7 kgm3, k  0.668
WmK,   365  10-6 Nsm2 , cp, = 4195 JkgK, Pr = 2.29.

ANALYSIS: (a) The heat transfer and condensation rates are given by Eqs. 10.32 and 10.33,
q  h LL  Tsat  Ts  m  q hfg (1,2)

where, from Eq. 10.26, with Ja  c p, (Tsat  Ts)hfg ,


hfg  hfg 1  0.68 cp,  Tsat  Ts  hfg  
kJ   4195 J kg  K 100  54  K  
hfg  2257 1  0.68     2388 kJ kg .
kg   3
2257 10 J kg  


Assuming turbulent flow conditions, Eq. 10.39 is the appropriate correlation,

 
2 1/ 3
hL  g Re
 Re  1800
 
(3)
k 8750  58Pr 0.5 Re0.75  253
Problem: Condensation on a Vertical Plate (cont)

Not knowing Re or h L , another relation is required. Combining Eqs. 10.33 and 10.35,
mhfg  Re  b  hfg
hL  
A  Tsat  T    A T T . (4)
4   sat 

Substituting Eq. (4) for h L into Eq. (3), with A  bL,

Re  bhfg Re k
 
 
. (5)
4  bL  Tsat  T  8750  58Pr 0.5 Re0.75  253

2 1/ 3
  g

Using appropriate properties with L = 2.5 m, find

365 106 N  s m 2  2388  103 J kg

(6)
4  2.5m 100  54  K
1 0.668 W m  K
 
8750  58  2.29 
0.5
 Re0.75  253 365 106 973.72 m4 s2 9.8m s2 1/ 3
 
Re  2979 .

Since Re  1800, the flow is turbulent, and using Eq. (4) or (3), find
h L  5645 W m2  K .
Problem: Condensation on a Vertical Plate (cont)

From the rate equations (1) and (2), the heat transfer and condensation rates are
q  5645W m2  K  2.5m 100  54 K  649k W m <
m  649 103 W m 2388 103 J kg  0.272 kg s  m . <

(b) If the height of the plate were halved, L = 1.25 m, and turbulent flow was still assumed to
exist, the LHS of Eq. (5) may be reevaluated and the equation solved to obtain
Re  1280 .

Since 1800  Re , the flow is not turbulent, but wavy-laminar. The procedure now follows that
of Example 10.3. For L = 1.25 m with wavy-laminar flow, Eq. 10.38 is the appropriate
correlation. The calculation yields
Re  1372 h L  5199 W m2  K
q  299kW m m  0.125kg s  m . <

COMMENT:
Note that the height was decreased by a factor of 2, while the rates decreased by a factor of 2.2. Would you
have expected this result?