A Semi-Empirical Model for Condensation Heat Transfer Coefficient of Mixed Ethanol-Water Vapors

A semi-empirical model describing the heat transfer characteristics of the pseudo-dropwise condensation of binary vapor on a cooled vertical tube has been formulated. By ignoring the thin film always present on the condensation surface and the intensification of mass transfer caused by the Marangoni effect, the heat transfer characteristics of pseudo-dropwise condensation are tentatively formulated. The model involved an analysis of the diffusion process in the vapor boundary layer along with the heat transfer process through the condensate drops. This model was applied to the condensation of the saturated binary vapor of ethanol and water, and was examined using experimental data at vapor pressure values of 101.33 kPa (provided by Utaka and Wang, 2004, “Characteristic Curves and the Promotion Effect of Ethanol Addition on Steam Condensation Heat Transfer,” Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer, 47, pp. 4507–4516), 84.52 kPa and 47.36 kPa. Calculations using the model show a similar trend to the experimental measurements. With the change of the vapor-to-surface temperature difference, the heat transfer coefficients revealed nonlinear characteristics, with the peak values under all ethanol mass fractions of binary vapor. The heat transfer coefficients increased with decreasing ethanol mass fraction.