Parametric study of condensation utilizing jet impingement technique

Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 aims at reducing the cost of energy production and utilization. This is realized by utilizing renewable energy sources and efficient energy products. Efficient water production using thermal/non-thermal distillation technologies is a major target in this area. In distillation technologies, the focus has been extensively on the separation process, i.e., separating water vapor from the brine solution. However, for the water to be collected for later use, condensation is the main mechanism. In this work, an efficient and compact condenser design is proposed. The condenser is based on the efficient heat and mass transfer performance of jet impingement in single and multi-phase flows. Preliminary experimental work has been performed by the author during his PhD work, however, with many constraints. In this work, a more comprehensive experimental study in which different objectives are planned to be executed. Namely, the effect of jet size, flow rate, temperature, and jet-to-surface distance are going to be investigated. Successful completion of the project objectives should put the technology in a position to begin integrating it with existing technologies that require condensation in their processes, such as thermal/membrane distillation, refrigeration systems, or thermal management, to name a few. It is expected that the proposed design is capable of increasing the efficiency of the condensation process as well as minimizing the footprint of current condenser designs which would cut the manufacturing costs by several folds. Condensation is a pivotal process in several technologies that are important to KFUPM and Saudi Arabia. It is important in power generation (steam power plants for instance), thermal and membrane distillation (as a water collection mechanism), dehumidification and air conditioning technology (thermal control in residential and industrial scales), thermal phase change storage (storing the latent heat of evaporation as an example), and thermal management of electronic devices (for example in heat pipes). The mentioned technologies are important to the Kingdom especially with Vision 2030 which pushes to advance scientific exploration and efficient utilization of energy resources.