Boiling and Condensation

Ravi Kumar
Professor
Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering
Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee- 247677
India
 Pool Boiling
• In pool boiling the heated surface is immersed in liquid in a container
which is much larger than the heater.
• There is no forced convection and, except close to the heated surface, the
liquid velocities caused by the heat-transfer process are small.
• Since most of the technical applications of boiling involve natural or
forced convection, pool boiling is of limited interest in itself, but it has
been intensively studied
o because it is simpler experimentally than flow boiling
o because the results of pool-boiling studies can be incorporated in the
descriptions of the more complicated regimes of flow boiling.

Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667
November 6, 2015 2
 …pool boiling

• In boiling we are concerned with the motion of a liquid - vapour interface at

a solid surface.
• Fluid -solid combinations can be classified according to the contact angle
which ranges from nearly zero for well-wetted systems, such as cryogenic
fluids and alkali liquid metals on metal surfaces, through finite values less
than 900 in partially wetted systems, such as water and many organic fluids
on metals, to occasional examples of non-wetted systems with contact
angles greater than 900, such as water on polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 3
 …pool boiling

• However, contact angle is not a well-defined property but depends on

surface roughness, cleanliness, and the direction of motion of the liquid-
vapour interface.
• Water in particular exhibits 'contact angle hysteresis', low values of ξ when
the liquid is receding and higher values when it is advancing. (Think of a
raindrop running down a window) Wetting characteristics will be seen to be
important when we examine the process of bubble nucleation in the
following slides.

06-11-2015 Prof. Ravi Kumar, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee- 247667 4
 Boiling Curve

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 5
06-11-2015 Prof. Ravi Kumar, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee- 247667 6
 ….boiling

• In pool boiling the heat flux depends primarily on the wall superheat and not on the
overall difference between the wall and bulk-fluid temperatures as in single-phase heat
transfer.
• The relationship is non-linear so the concept of a heat-transfer coefficient is not
particularly helpful, and experimental results are generally presented on a logarithmic
plot of heat flux against wall superheat ∆Tsat.
Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667
November 6, 2015 7
 Effect of Surface Conditions

• Surface finish has a pronounced effect on

nucleate boiling by altering the number of
bubble nucleation sites, but at present the
effect cannot be put on a quantitative basis.
• The surface finishes can change the wall
superheat for a given heat flux by an order of
magnitude.
• Surface conditions may well change with
time.
• In film-boiling region and the value of the
critical heat flux are not much affected by
surface conditions.

Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667
November 6, 2015 8
 Effect of geometry

• Nucleate boiling is insensitive to system geometry provided the surface

dimensions are larger than typical bubble sizes, say 1mm for water at
atmospheric pressure.
• In saturated boiling bubbles must be able to escape from the surface, for
example compare the undersides of a horizontal round tube and of a large
horizontal plate In small containers strong convection patterns induced in
the liquid by the rising vapor may have some effect.
• Except on large horizontal surfaces, film boiling does depend on
geometry.

Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667
November 6, 2015 9
 Effect of Pressure

• For a given fluid -surface combination and

heat flux, the wall superheat for nucleate
boiling is decreased as the system pressure
is increased.
• The critical heat flux reaches a maximum
value at a pressure of about 0.3Pc , where Pc
is the critical pressure of the fluid
• Borishanski, Novikov, and Kutateladze
(1961) used the concept of generalized
thermodynamic properties to correlate
heat-transfer coefficients in nucleate
boiling.
November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 10
 Rochesnow Correlation for Nucleate Boiling

• Data for eight different fluids fit the Fluid Surface Ci

curve to ±30 per cent. Another widely Water Nickel 0.006

used semi-empirical correlation for Water Platinum 0.013

nucleate boiling by Rohsenow (1952) is Water Copper 0.013

0.33
C pl ∆Tsat  φ σ   C pl µl 
s Water Brass 0.006
= C1     Carbon Tetrachloride Copper 0.013
λ  µl λ g (ρ l − ρ g )   kl  Benzene Chromium 0.010
• The index ‘s’ in this equation is taken as N-Penthane Chromium 0.015
1.0 for water and 1.7 for all other fluids. Ethanol Chromium 0.0027
The constant Ci depends on the fluid Isopropanol Copper 0.0025
surface combination as shown in Table N-Butanol Copper 0.0030

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 11
 …nucleate boiling
•

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 12
 Effect of time-varying surface temperature
We are interested in transient behavior in safety calculations and in
quenching. Johnson (1971) used exponential heat inputs to thin metal
ribbons and found for time constants greater than 5 ms that the nucleate-
boiling curve was the same as for the steady state, except that the critical
heat flux was increased. Veres and Flcrschuetz (1971) found that steady-state
and quenching experiments on tile same surface gave the same boiling curve.

Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667
November 6, 2015 13
 Effect of non-uniform surface temperature

• Although finned surfaces are normally used to improve inefficient heat-

transfer processes, it may be advantageous to use fins in boiling when the
allowable wall temperature exceeds the temperature at the peak of the
nucleate-boiling curve.
• The fins then operate with their roots in film boiling and the outer regions
in nucleate boiling. Despite the large gradients of wall temperature, it
seems that the standard boiling curve can be used for design purposes.

Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667
November 6, 2015 14
 Effect of dissolved gas
• When the liquid contains a significant concentration of dissolved gas,
bubbles may form on the heated surface at negative values of ∆Tsat .
• The bubble growth rate is much smaller than in boiling, since it is
governed by mass transfer, but there is usually some increase in heat
transfer.
• If large bubbles remain attached to the surface they may cause
considerable modification of the single- phase convection.

Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667
November 6, 2015 15
 Low-liquid regimes
• So far we have assumed that the heated surface is immersed in a liquid pool of
reasonable depth, say greater than 10 mm.
• Some differences in behaviour occur for very shallow liquid layers.
• Like formation of large vapour surface domes exceeding 20 mm in diameter on water
layers in the depth range 5- 2 mm.
• The domes have lifetimes ranging from several minutes at low heat flux to a few
microseconds at high flux.
• For still thinner layers domes are not formed, although bubbles from nucleation sites
break through the liquid film.
• In both cases the critical heat flux corresponds to the formation of a dry patch in the
film, the presence of a dome causing burnout at a lower flux.

Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667
November 6, 2015 16
• Leidenfrost boiling is relevant to fuel vaporization and heat transfer in mist
flow, but the effects of surface roughness and velocity components relative
to the surface are significant.
• Although some writers refer conjointly to the minimum wall temperature
for Leidenfrost boiling and the temperature at the minimum heat flux in
pool boiling as the 'Leidenfrost temperature' or the 'maximum temperature
for wetting', there is no firm evidence that it has a unique value for any
given fluid -surface combination.

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 17
 Stable film boiling

• Film boiling makes a good starting point to understand the process of boiling; the flow
patterns are reasonably well-defined and the properties of the solid surface are known
to be unimportant.
• On the other hand, stable film boiling is of limited practical interest, except for
cryogenic fluids.
• Bromley's (1950) successful analysis of film boiling on horizontal cylinders is an
inversion of the standard Nusselt analysis of condensation.

1
 k 3 ρ g (ρl − ρ g )λg  4
h = C2  
 µ g ∆Tsat D 

Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667
November 6, 2015 18
 Critical heat flux
• During nucleate boiling just below the critical flux, large quantities of vapour are
generated at the heated surface which must be continuously replenished with liquid.
• Zuber (1958) identifies the critical condition with the breakdown of this counterflow
situation owing to the onset of a Helmholz instability at the liquid- vapour interface. By
making assumptions about the flow areas of each phase a critical volumetric flow of
vapour can be calculated, and, if heat is transported primarily as latent heat, the critical
flux is
 

 = 0.18    −   
 + 

Zuber's original model gave the constant as 0.13 but 0.18 fits the data better.

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 19
• This well represents the effects of fluid properties and acceleration. Kutateladze (1952)
developed a similar expression from dimensional analysis and experiment. Subcooling
increases the critical flux considerably:
φsub
= 1 + B (Tsat − Tb )
φsat
• Where φsub and φsat are the critical heat fluxes for subcooled and saturated boiling
respectively. Kutateladze uses the empirical expression for B:
0.8
ρ  c pg
B = 0.065 l 
ρ  λ
 g 

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 20
 Nucleate Boiling
For convenience we consider separately bubble nucleation, growth, and effect on heat
transfer, although really we know that these processes interact.
• Bubble nucleation
For a bubble of radius r to grow the internal pressure must overcome the collapsing effect
of surface tension, i.e. it must exceed the pressure in the liquid by
2σ
∆p >
rb
The internal pressure is the vapour pressure, which depends on the temperature of the
bubble interface (and its curvature).
The interface temperature must exceed saturation temperature corresponding to the
liquid pressure, i.e. the liquid surrounding the bubble must be super-heated and the
smaller the radius the higher the superheat.
This implies that for a bubble to be created in a liquid and grow from zero radius would
require initially an infinite superheat.

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 21
Infact this model breaks down as r becomes very small, since assemblies of a few molecules cannot
be described in terms of continuum concepts such as pressure and surface tension. We avoid these
difficulties by a different approach.
We know that for most fluids boiling can occur at superheats of the order of 10K. We calculate the
minimum radius of bubble which can grow at this superheat (in the range 0.1-1.0 µ) and the
change in Gibbs free energy ∆G in creating this bubble from liquid. Then, applying the rate theory
of chemical reactions (Westwater 1956), we find the rate at which nuclei would form, , because
of random fluctuations in molecular energy:

Nk BT  − ∆G 
n& = exp 
hP  k BT 

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 22
•
2σ
∆p >
rb

∆P λ
=
∆T Tsat (v g − vl )

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 23
 Bubble Growth
For a vapour bubble to grow the following conditions must be satisfied.
o The temperature of the bubble interface must be lower than that of the surrounding
liquid so that heat is supplied to cause evaporation.
o The pressure inside the bubble must exceed that some distance away in the liquid,
both to do work to increase the kinetic energy of the surrounding liquid and to
overcome the inter- facial pressure difference caused by surface tension.

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 24
 Nucleate Boiling in Forced Convection

Most research on flow boiling has been concerned with boiling in channels of constant
cross-section (in particular vertical, round tubes).Flow boiling may differ from pool boiling
because
o the large contribution by single-phase heat transfer modifies the conditions at the
inception of boiling heat transfer,
o the vapour generated by boiling in the confines of a channel interacts strongly with
the liquid flow (the amount of vapour present at one position in a channel may
depend on conditions elsewhere)
o two-phase flow causes large gradients of pressure and therefore of saturation
temperature; thus calculations of flow boiling often have to proceed stepwise along
a channel.

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 25
• A vertical tube is heated by a uniform flux at its wall.
• From A to B heat transfer is entirely by single phase forced
convection since the wall temperature, although higher than the
saturation temperature, is below the value required for bubble
nucleation.
• There then be a sharp reduction in Tw over a short axial length,
analogous to Hysteresis at the inception of pool boiling, before Tw
settles to a nearly constant superheat over B -D.
• At B the bulk liquid is still highly sub- cooled, so vapour bubbles
are confined to the wall region, often sliding along the wall as
they grow and re-condense.
• At C the bulk temperature (although still below Tsat) has increased
sufficiently for bubbles to penetrate the main flow and there is a
sharp increase in the void fraction.
• Between C and D, Tb reaches Tsat and bubbles no longer start to
condense as they leave the wall.

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 26
• The tube is filled with a bubbly flow in which bubble coalescence
leads to a fairly rapid transition to slug flow D –E followed by
annular flow E –F in which a thin liquid film covers the tube wall
while vapour containing entrained liquid droplets flows up the
centre at high velocity. ‘
• Burnout' of the wall with a consequent deterioration in heat
transfer occurs at F.
• Heat transfer in the region D -F is strongly affected by the flow
regime and by the high vapour velocities.
• In annular flow, for example, convective heat transfer across the
liquid film with evaporation at its interface with the vapour core
may be so effective that the wall superheat becomes too low to
support the nucleation of individual bubbles.
• Over B -D, however, nucleate boiling occurs with strong
similarities to pool boiling, and this is the region to be discussed
in the remainder of this chapter.

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 27
 MODES OF CONDENSATION

• Homogeneous condensation
• Condensation in direct contact with subcooled liquid.
• Condensation on direct contact with a cooling wall of a
heat exchanger-this is the most common mode used in
industry.

November 6, 2015 28
 Condensation on direct contact with wall
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.

November 6, 2015 29
 film condensation drop condensation

cooled vapor cooled vapor

wall wall

condensate film condensate drop

Interfacial tension in case of partial wetting

σLG
SG: solid-gas
β0 LG: liquid-gas
σSG SL: solid-liquid
β0: wetting angle
σSL
November 6, 2015 30
 Dropwise Condensation
Surface is covered by drops ranging from a few
micrometers to agglomerations visible to the
naked eye.

Thermal resistance is greatly reduced due to absence of a

continuous film.
Surface coatings may be applied to inhibit wetting and stimulate
dropwise condensation.

November 6, 2015 31
 Nusselt theory
For filmwise condensation of a "stationary" saturated vapor, Nusselt (1916)
presented the first analytical solution for heat transfer on a plane surface
with the following assumptions:
1. Both the plate and the vapor are maintained at constant temperatures of
Ts and Tsat, respectively, and the temperature across the liquid film varies
linearly.
2. Heat transfer across the liquid film is by pure conduction.
3. The velocity of the vapor is low (or zero) so that it exerts no drag on the
condensate (no viscous shear on the liquid–vapor interface).
4. The flow of the condensate is laminar and the properties of the liquid are
constant.
5. The acceleration of the condensate layer is negligible.

November 6, 2015 32
November 6, 2015 33
 Weight=Viscous shear force +Buoyancy force
du
ρl g (δ − y )( bdx ) = µl ( bdx ) + ρv g (δ − y )( bdx )
dy
Canceling the bdx and solving for du/dy

du g ( ρl − ρv )(δ − y )
=
dy µl

November 6, 2015 34
 Integrating from y=0 (u =0) to y (u =u(y))

g ( ρl − ρv )  y2 
u( y) =  yδ − 
µl  2 

The mass flow rate of the condensate at a location x is

determined from

δ
m& ( x) = ∫ ρl u ( y )dA = ∫ ρl u ( y )bdy
A y =0

November 6, 2015 35
 Substituting u(y)
g ( ρl − ρ v )  y2 
u( y) =  yδ − 
µl  2 

g (ρ l − ρ v ) 
δ
y2 
m& ( x) = ∫ ρ l  yδ − bdy
y =0
µl  2 

gb ρl ( ρl − ρv ) δ 3
m& ( x) =
3µl

dm& gb ρl ( ρl − ρv ) δ d δ
2

=
dx µl dx
November 6, 2015 36
 The rate of heat transfer from the vapor to the plate
through the liquid film

Tsat − Ts
dQ = h fg dm& = kl (bdx )
δ
dm& kl b Tsat − Ts
=
dx h fg δ

dm& gb ρl ( ρl − ρv ) δ d δ
2

=
dx µl dx

dm& kl b Tsat − Ts gbρ l (ρ l − ρ v )δ 2 dδ

= =
dx h fg δ µl dx
November 6, 2015 37
 3 µl kl (Tsat − Ts )
δ dδ = dx
g ρl ( ρl − ρv ) h fg

14
 4 µl kl (Tsat − Ts ) x 
δ ( x) =  
 g ρl ( ρl − ρv ) h fg 

November 6, 2015 38
 Since the heat transfer across the liquid film is assumed
to be by pure conduction, the heat transfer coefficient
can be expressed through Newton’s law of cooling and
Fourier law as

Tsat − Ts kl
q& x = hx (Tsat − Ts ) = kl → hx =
δ δ
Substituting δ(x), the local heat transfer coefficient is
determined to be

14
 g ρl ( ρl − ρv ) h kfg l
3

hx =  
 4µl (Tsat − Ts ) x 

November 6, 2015 39
 The average heat transfer coefficient over the entire plate is

14
1 L 4  g ρl ( ρl − ρv ) h k 3

h = ∫ hx dx = hx = L = 0.943  fg l

L 0 3  µl (Tsat − Ts ) L 

For horizontal tubes

14
1 L 4  g ρl ( ρl − ρv ) h k 
3

h = ∫ hx dx = hx = L = 0.943  fg l

L 0 3  µ l ( sat
T − Ts) L 

0.729

November 6, 2015 40
 • It is observed to underpredict heat transfer because it
does not take into account the effects of the
nonlinear temperature profile in the liquid film and
the cooling of the liquid below the saturation
temperature.
• Both of these effects can be accounted for by
replacing hfg by modified h*fg to yield

14
1 L 4  g ρl ( ρl − ρv ) h k
* 3

h = ∫ hx dx = hx = L = 0.943 
fg l

L 0 3  µl (Tsat − Ts ) L 

0 <Re<30
November 6, 2015 41
 h′fg = h fg (1 + 0.68 Ja )

c p (Tsat − Ts )
Ja ≡ → Jakob number
h fg

Error is < 3% for Ja<=0.1 and 1<=Pr<=100

November 6, 2015 42
 Condensation Number

   ℎ !
ℎ=
∆
"ℎ = ℎ#∆

   ℎ ℎ# !
ℎ= .
 "ℎ

    ℎ # !
ℎ! = .
 "ℎ

     # !
ℎ! = .
 "
06-11-2015 Prof. Ravi Kumar, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee- 247667 43
 
  !
    #
ℎ! = .
 "

     $ 4# !
ℎ! = . .
   $
4"

    $ 4# 
ℎ =  !/ . .
  
4" $
 
 
 !/
4#  
*
' = ℎ   = ()
   $

06-11-2015 Prof. Ravi Kumar, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee- 247667 44
For Vertical Plate
' = 1.47() */
For horizontal tube
' = 1.514() */
For Re>1800
' = 1.514() */

06-11-2015 Prof. Ravi Kumar, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee- 247667 45
 Numerical
• A vertical square plate, 30 by 30 cm, is exposed to steam at atmospheric
pressure. The plate temperature is 98◦C. Calculate the heat transfer and the
mass of steam condensed per hour. ρf = 960 kg/m3, µf=2.82x10-4 Pa-m,
kf=0.68 W/m.oC
• One hundred tubes of 1.27-cm diameter are arranged in a square array and
exposed to atmospheric steam. Calculate the mass of steam condensed per
unit length of tubes for a tube wall temperature of 98◦C.

November 6, 2015 46
 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
4ρ u δ
Reδ ≡ 4Γ = 4 m = l m
µl µ l b µl

November 6, 2015 47
 Flow rate per unit width:
m g ρl ( ρl − ρ v ) δ 3
Γ≡ =
b 3µ l
Average Nusselt Number
1/ 4
h LL
 ρl g ( ρl − ρv ) h′fg L3 
Nu L = = 0.943  
kl  µ l k l ( Tsat − Ts ) 

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
November 6, 2015 48
 Nondimensionalized Heat Transfer Coefficients

November 6, 2015 49
 Film Condensation over a Tube

single tube or sphere

1/ 4
 g ρl ( ρl − ρυ ) kl3h′fg 
hD = C  
 µ l ( Tsat − Ts ) D 
Tube: C =0.729 Sphere: C=0.826

vertical grid of N tubes

1/ 4

h D, N
( υ )
 g ρl ρl − ρ k 3h′fg 
= 0.729  l

 N µl (Tsat − Ts ) D 

November 6, 2015 50
 Film Condensation over Tube Bundles
continuous staggered discrete large vapor
laminar sheet configuration droplets velocities

November 6, 2015 51
 Effect of Condensate Inundation

In the absence of vapor velocity:

• condensate falls by gravity onto lower tubes in the bundle
• condensate thickens around the lower tubes
• condensation heat transfer decreases, because the thick condensate
layer acts as an insulator

Film condensation on a vertical in-line column of N horizontal tubes

using Nusselt idealized theory gives the following average
coefficient compared to the coefficient for the first (top) tube
hm,N
= N−1/ 4
h1

November 6, 2015 52
 The local coefficient for the Nth tube by the Nusselt theory
hN
= N3 / 4 − (N − 1)3 / 4
h1
Kern's relationship is less conservative
hm,N hN
= N−1/ 6 and = N5 / 6 − (N − 1)5 / 6
h1 h1
Eissenberg relation for a staggered bundle (side-drainage model)

hN
= 0.60 + 0.42 N−1/ 4
For design purposes,h1Kern relation is recommended

November 6, 2015 53
 • Staggered arrangement yields a higher HT coefficient
• To prevent inundation, tubes are slightly inclined, which results in
an increase of up to 25% in the HT coefficient

November 6, 2015 54
 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 Ts = 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.

November 6, 2015 55
 Problem: Condensation on a Vertical Plate (cont)

PROPERTIES: Table A-6, Water, vapor (1 atm): Tsat = 100°C, ρv = 0.596 kg/m3, hfg = 2257
kJ/kg; Table A-6, Water, liquid (Tf = (100 + 54)°C/2 = 350 K): ρ l = 973.7 kg/m3, k l = 0.668
W/m⋅K, µl = 365 × 10-6 N⋅s/m2 , c p,l = 4195 J/kg⋅K, Prl = 2.29.

ANALYSIS: (a) The heat transfer and condensation rates are given by Eqs. 10.32 and 10.33,
q′ = h L L ( Tsat − Ts ) & ′ = q′ h′fg
m (1,2)

where, from Eq. 10.26, with Ja = c p,l (Tsat − Ts)/hfg ,

(
h ′fg = h fg 1 + 0.68 c p, l ( Tsat − Ts ) h fg  )
kJ   4195 J kg ⋅ K (100 − 54 ) K  
h′fg = 2257 1 + 0.68    = 2388 kJ kg .
kg  
 2257 × 10 3 J kg  


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

1/ 3
(
hL ν l2 g ) =
Reδ
Reδ > 1800 (3)
kl
(
8750 + 58 Pr −0.5 Reδ0.75 − 253 )
November 6, 2015 56
 Problem: Condensation on a Vertical Plate (cont)

Not knowing Reδ or h L , another relation is required. Combining Eqs. 10.33 and 10.35,
& ′fg
mh  Re µ b  h ′fg
hL = = δ l  . (4)
A ( Tsat − T )  4  A ( Tsat − T )

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

Reδ µl bh ′fg Reδ kl
= ⋅ . (5)
l (
4 ( bL )( Tsat − T ) 8750 + 58 Pr −0.5 Re0.75 − 253
δ )( 2
νl g
1/ 3
)
Using appropriate properties with L = 2.5 m, find

365 ×10−6 N ⋅ s m2 × 2388 ×103 J kg

(6)
4 × 2.5m (100 − 54 ) K
1 0.668 W m ⋅ K
= ⋅
8750 + 58 ( 2.29 ) (
−0.5 0.75
Reδ − 253  ) ( − 6 2 4 2
) 2
 365 × 10 973.7 m s 9.8m s 

1/ 3

 
Reδ = 2979 .

Since Reδ > 1800, the flow is turbulent, and using Eq. (4) or (3), find
h L = 5645 W m 2 ⋅ K .
November 6, 2015 57
 Problem: Condensation on a Vertical Plate (cont)

From the rate equations (1) and (2), the heat transfer and condensation rates are
q′ = 5645 W m 2 ⋅ K × 2.5m (100 − 54 ) K = 649k W m <
& ′ = 649 ×103 W m 2388 ×103 J kg = 0.272 kg s ⋅ m .
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
Reδ = 1280 .

Since 1800 > Reδ , 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
Reδ = 1372 h L = 5199 W m 2 ⋅ K
q′ = 299 kW m & ′ = 0.125 kg s ⋅ m .
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?

November 6, 2015 58
 Film Condensation for a Vapor Flow in a Horizontal Tube

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

 ρ um ,υ D 
Reυ ,i =  υ  < 35, 000 :
 µυ i

1/ 4
 g ρl ( ρl − ρυ ) k h′  3
l fg
h D = 0.555  
 µ l ( Tsat − Ts ) D 

h′fg ≡ h fg + 0.375 (Tsat − Ts )

November 6, 2015 59
 For larger vapor velocities, flow is principally in the axial
direction and characterized by two-phase annular conditions.

November 6, 2015 60
 Questions??

November 6, 2015 Ravi Kumar, Professor, Department of Mechanical & Industrial Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee- 247667 61