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Numerical study on condensation heat transfer of R290 inside a 4-mm-ID horizontal smooth tube

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Abstract

This paper deals with the condensation heat transfer characteristic of propane (R290) inside a 4-mm-inner-diameter (ID) horizontal smooth tube. Three-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulations were performed based on the volume of fluid (VOF) multiphase flow model and shear stress transport (SST) k-ω turbulence model together with a dedicated user-defined function (UDF) compiled for the phase change model. The flow pattern and velocity field distribution were derived, and the condensation heat transfer coefficient (HTC) versus mass flux, saturation temperature, and heat transfer temperature difference were analyzed in detail. The results demonstrate that the area-weighted average condensation HTC of the wall takes on an average increase rate of 33.69% as the mass flux increases from 180 to 360 kg/(m2 s), and an average decrease rate of 19.83% with the increasing saturation temperature. Besides, the local condensation HTC swells more than twice as the temperature difference increases from 5 to 20 K. Compared with the saturation temperature, the mass flux and heat transfer temperature difference have a more remarkable effect on the condensation flow pattern and velocity field distribution. Under the specific conditions, the flow condensation of R290 inside the tube can be successively transformed from annular flow, annular wavy flow, half annular flow to plug flow, and the annular flow region can be enlarged with increasing mass flux. Comparing the simulated results with those of the experiment, it can be concluded that the numerical model adopted in this paper has good accuracy and the relative deviation is within ± 20%.

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Abbreviations

D h :

Hydraulic diameter (m)

D ω :

Orthogonal divergence term

d :

Inner diameter of the tube (m)

E :

Specific thermodynamic energy (kJ/kg)

F σ :

Volumetric force at the interface (N/m3)

G :

Mass flux (kg/(m2 s))

G k :

Generation of turbulence kinetic energy in the SST k-ω model

G ω :

Turbulence kinetic energy generated by the ω equation

h lv :

Latent heat of vaporization (kJ/kg)

k :

Turbulence kinetic energy

L :

The effective length of the tube (m)

Nu :

Nusselt number

P :

Pressure (Pa)

Q :

Energy source term (kJ/(m3 s))

r :

Empirical coefficient (s−1)

S :

Mass source term (kg/(m3 s))

T :

Temperature (K)

ΔT :

Heat transfer temperature difference (K)

u :

Velocity of the vapor–liquid mixture (m/s)

x :

Vapor quality

Y k :

Turbulent dissipation term of the k equation

Y ω :

Turbulent dissipation term of the ω equation

α :

Volume fraction

ρ :

Density (kg/m3)

σ :

Surface tension coefficient (N/m)

λ :

Thermal conductivity (W/(m K))

μ :

Dynamic viscosity (Pa s)

κ :

Surface curvature (m−1)

\(\Gamma_k\) :

Effective diffusion terms of k

\(\Gamma_\omega\) :

Effective diffusion terms of ω

v :

Vapor phase

l :

Liquid phase

exp:

Experiment

sim:

Simulation

sat:

Saturation

HTC:

Heat transfer coefficient

ID:

Inner diameter

UDF:

User-defined function

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No.22068024) and Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province, China (Grant No.2016BAB206124)

Funding

National Natural Science Foundation of China, 22068024, Yuande Dai, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangxi Province, 2016BAB206124, Yuande Dai.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, Jiangxi, China

    Yuande Dai, Shanyun Zhu & Yujie Guo

  2. College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, Hunan, China

    Sikai Zou

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  1. Yuande Dai
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Correspondence to Yuande Dai.

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Dai, Y., Zhu, S., Guo, Y. et al. Numerical study on condensation heat transfer of R290 inside a 4-mm-ID horizontal smooth tube. J Braz. Soc. Mech. Sci. Eng. 44, 2 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40430-021-03313-w

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