Condensate Retention on Horizontal Pin-Fin Condenser Tube including the effect of Vapour Velocity

Condensation heat transfer is of vital importance due to the fact that condenser in an integral part of most of the thermal systems used in domestic, commercial and industrial applications. Some important examples are surface condensers used in power generation, refrigeration systems and various customized condensers used to condense various gases. These condensers are comprised mainly on horizontal tubes. Over the years, these horizontal tubes have been extensively investigated for various fluids and it is concluded that tubes with extended surfaces like integral fins or pin-fins have great potential to increase heat transfer rates and overall efficiency of the condenser. The main mechanism of heat transfer enhancement by these tubes is due to the enhanced area for heat transfer and also the effective utilization of surface tension induced force for condensate drainage. During condensation process, the formation of condensate film is main resistance to retard heat transfer. This liquid condensate on horizontal pin-fin tube is known as condensate retention that generally blocks the lower part of tube and act as an insulation resulting in the form of resistance to heat transfer. Various, tube geometries are experimentally tested with different pin fin longitudinal and circumferential thickness and spacing, pin-fin height, internal and external tube diameters. As it is extremely important to estimate the extent of condensate retention on such pin-fin tubes in order to make more effective horizontal pin-fin tubes in terms of heat transfer. The proposed project will target for the development of semi empirical correlations for condensate retention on pin-fin tubes as a function of vapour velocity (forced convection condensation). Various geometric parameters and fluids will be considered for model development. Accurate data collection from the previous work will be completed and data will be analyzed for the model development. The development of such a semi empirical model is the first important step required for the development of full scale heat transfer model of condensation heat transfer on horizontal pin-fin tubes during forced convection.