Heat Transfer Processes and Equipment

CC01, CC02, CC03

CH2043

English Program
Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology

Wan Zaireen Nisa Yahya and Shafirah Samsuri 2023

CHAPTER 6:
PHASE CHANGE HEAT TRANSFER
Part 2: Condensation
 Condensation Heat Transfer

 Film condensation
Condensation in Everyday Life

Morning Dew on the Grass Fogging a Mirror

 Condensation Heat Transfer
• Condensation
Condensation occurs when the temperature of a vapor is reduced below
its saturation temperature.
 Film condensation
The condensate wets the surface and forms a liquid film.
The surface is blanketed by a liquid film which serves as
a resistance to heat transfer.

 Droplet condensation
The condensed vapor forms droplets on the surface.
The droplets slide down when they reach a certain size.
No liquid film to resist heat transfer.
Heat transfer rates 10 times larger than film condensation.
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 Condensation Heat Transfer
• The Modified hfg
The condensate in an actual condensation process is cooled further to
average temperature between Tsat and Ts, releasing more heat in the
process.

The actual heat transfer will be larger and can be accounted for by
replacing hfg by the modified latent heat of vaporization h*fg, defined as:

where,
 Cpl is the specific heat of the liquid at the average film temperature.
 hfg is evaluated at Tsat

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 Condensation Heat Transfer
• The Rate of Condensation heat transfer

As is the surface area of heat transfer.

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 Film Condensation
• Flow Regimes
Heat transfer in condensation depends on whether
the condensate flow is laminar or turbulent.
The criterion for the flow regime is determined
by the Reynolds number.

Three prime flow regimes:

Re < 30 ─ Laminar (wave-free)
30 < Re < 1800 ─ Laminar (wavy)
Re > 1800 ─ Turbulent

Reynolds number increases in flow direction.

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 Film Condensation
• Laminar Flow on Vertical Plate (0 < Re < 30)
The average heat transfer coefficient for laminar film condensation
over a vertical flat plate of height L is

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 Film Condensation
• Laminar Flow on Vertical Plate (0 < Re < 30)
Reynolds number is given as:

All properties of the liquid are to be evaluated at the film temperature.

The hfg and ρv are to be evaluated at the saturation temperature Tsat.

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 Film Condensation
• Wavy Laminar Flow on Vertical Plates (30<Re<1800)
The average heat transfer coefficient in wavy laminar condensate flow:

Reynolds number is given as

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 Film Condensation
• Turbulent Flow on Vertical Plates (Re>1800)

The physical properties of the condensate are again to be evaluated

at the film temperature Tf = (Tsat + Ts)/2.

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 Film Condensation
• Film Condensation on Inclined Plates
For laminar film condensation on the upper surfaces of plates that are
inclined by an angle θ from the vertical, g is replaced by g cosθ.

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 Film Condensation
• Film Condensation on Horizontal Tubes and Spheres
The average heat transfer coefficient for film condensation on the
outer surfaces of a horizontal tube is

For a sphere, replace the constant 0.729 by 0.815.

A comparison of the heat transfer coefficient relations for a vertical tube

of height L and a horizontal tube of diameter D yields

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 Film Condensation
• Film Condensation on Horizontal Tube Banks
Assuming the condensate from the tubes above to the
ones below drain smoothly, the average film condensation
heat transfer coefficient for all tubes in a vertical tier can
be expressed as:

N – number of tubes in the vertical tier

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 Condensation of Steam on a Vertical Plate
Example 1:
Saturated steam at atmospheric pressure condenses on a 2 m high and 3 m wide vertical
plate that is maintained at 80° C by circulating cooling water through the other side.
Determine:
a. The rate of heat transfer by condensation to the plate
b. The rate which the condensate drips off the plate at the bottom in kg/s

Solutions:
Given: P = 1 atm, L = 2 m, W = 3 m, Ts = 80°C, vertical plate

Analysis: What is the flow regime of the condensate?

 Laminar (Re<30), wavy laminar (30<Re< 1800) or turbulent (Re>1800)?
 Assume flow regime then calculate Re to verify
 The heat transfer surface area As = 2 m × 3 m = 6 m2.
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 Condensation of Steam on a Vertical Plate
Example 1:
The properties of water at saturation temperature,100 °C are:

The properties of liquid water at the film temperature,

Tf = (Ts +Tsat)/2 = (80+100)/2 = 90 °C
are:

The modified latent heat of vaporization

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 Condensation of Steam on a Vertical Plate
Example 1:
Assume flow regime: Wavy Laminar
Then calculate Re to verify:

The calculated is 30 < Re < 1800 shows assumption of wavy laminar flow is valid.

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 Condensation of Steam on a Vertical Plate
Example 1:
The condensation heat transfer coefficient for wavy laminar flow:

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 Condensation of Steam on a Vertical Plate
Example 1:
a. The rate of heat transfer by condensation to the plate

b. The rate which the condensate drips off the plate at the bottom in kg/s

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 Condensation of Steam on an Inclined Plate
Example 2:
Saturated steam at atmospheric pressure condenses on a 2 m high and 3 m wide plate that
is maintained at 80° C by circulating cooling water through the other side. Consider the
plate is tilted at an angle of 30° from the vertical.
Determine:
a. The rate of heat transfer by condensation to the plate
b. The rate which the condensate drips off the plate at the bottom in kg/s

Solutions:
Given: P = 1 atm, L = 2 m, W = 3 m, Ts = 80°C, Inclined plate

Analysis: For condensation on inclined plate, the heat transfer coefficient is

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 Condensation of Steam on an Inclined Plate
Example 2:
It was found from Example 1 that hvert = 5850 W/m2∙K, then

For surface area, As = 6 m2, then

(a) The rate of heat transfer by condensation:

(b) The rate of steam condensation

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 Condensation of Steam on a Horizontal Pipe
Example 3:
The condenser of a steam power plant operates at a pressure of 7.38 kPa. Steam at this
pressure condenses on the outer surfaces of horizontal tubes through which cooling water
circulates. The outer diameter of the pipes is 3 cm, and the outer surfaces of the tubes are
maintained at 30 °C.
Determine:
a. The rate of heat transfer to the cooling water circulating in the tubes.
b. The rate of condensation of steam per unit length of a horizontal tube.

Solutions:
Given: P = 7.38 kPa, D = 0.03 m, Ts = 30°C, horizontal tube

Analysis:

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 Condensation of Steam on a Horizontal Pipe
Example 3:
P = 7.38 kPa corresponds to the saturation pressure of 40 °C.
The properties of water at saturation temperature, are:

The properties of liquid water at the film temperature,

Tf = (Ts +Tsat)/2 = (30+40)/2 = 35 °C are:

The modified heat of vaporization:

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 Condensation of Steam on a Horizontal Pipe
Example 3:
The condensation heat transfer coefficient:

Note:
since ρv <<< ρl,
(ρl – ρv) ~ ρl

The modified heat of vaporization:

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 Condensation of Steam on a Horizontal Pipe
Example 3:
Basis L = 1m,
The heat transfer surface area As = πDL= πx 0.03 m × 1 m = 0.09425 m2.

a. The rate of heat transfer to the cooling water circulating in the tubes.

2. The rate of condensation of steam per unit length of a horizontal tube.

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Condensation of Steam on Horizontal Tube Banks
Example 4:
The condenser of a steam power plant operates at a pressure of 7.38 kPa. Steam at this
pressure condenses on the outer surfaces of horizontal tube banks through which cooling
water circulates. The tube banks have 12 horizontal tubes arranged in a rectangular array of
3 tubes high and 4 tubes wide. The outer diameter of the tube is 3 cm, and the outer
surfaces of the tubes are maintained at 30 °C.
Determine:
a. The rate of heat transfer to the cooling water circulating in the tubes.
b. The rate of condensation of steam per unit length of a horizontal tube.
Solutions:
Given: Number of tubes in vertical tier = 3, N =3

Analysis:

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 Condensation of Steam on a Horizontal Pipe
Example 4:
The average heat transfer coefficient for a vertical tier of N horizontal tubes is:

The surface area for all 12 tubes per unit length of tubes:

The surface area for all 12 tubes per unit length of tubes:

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 Condensation of Steam on a Horizontal Pipe
Example 4:
a. The rate of heat transfer during the condensation process is:

b. The rate of condensation of steam:

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 Summary
Phase Change Heat Transfer Part 2: Condensation

• Condensation Heat Transfer

• h*fg

• Film condensation
• Laminar, wavy laminar, turbulent,
• Vertical plate, inclined plate,
horizontal tube, tube banks

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