A CONJUGATE MODEL OF FILM CONDENSATION OF SATURATED VAPOR ON A FLAT NONUNIFORMLY HEATED SURFACE

In a numerical experiment, the process of condensate film formation on a horizontal heat-conducting plate is con- sidered. The rate of condensate growth is investigated in the thin-film approximation. The proposed mathematical model of condensation allows one to take into account the inhomogeneous heating of the underlying surface. The model is intermediate between integral or quasi-one-dimensional models and models developed within the frame- work of computational fluid dynamics with account for the condensate film flow and processes in the vapor cushion. The calculation results are validated using experimental data obtained in studying propane condensation on a copper plate. Heat removal from the underlying surface in the experiment was carried out using Peltier elements. The mass of the resulting condensate was chosen as a control parameter. With regard to condensation on a flat hor- izontal surface, the use of the model allows one, in a number of cases, to increase the accuracy of determining the condensate mass in comparison with an analytical calculation that does not take into account the inhomogeneity of the temperature field in the underlying surface

Author:  A. A. Kuroedov, A. S. Vasyutichev, A. V. Ananiev, I. V. Laptev
Keywords:  film condensation, evaporative fuel supply system, spacecraft, propane.
Page:  1024