Computational Fluid Dynamics Modeling of Steam Condensation in the Presence of Noncondensable Gas in Inclined Tubes

Abstract

In this paper, film condensation of steam in inclined tubes in the presence of noncondensable gases is modeled using numerical method. A single-phase fluid model incorporating a wall-function boundary condition is proposed to simulate the heat and mass transfer interaction between the liquid condensate and the gas-vapor mixture region. A user defined function is implemented to impose the proposed boundary to the governing equations for steady state incompressible flow. The performance of applying this boundary condition and subsequent treatment of the heat transfer at the liquid-mixture interface is validated against published experimental results. The calculated profiles of local and average Nusselt number for various inlet conditions compares favorably to the previous published experimental results and correlations. For all simulated cases, increases in inlet and bulk concentrations of noncondensable gases resulted in a decrease in the thermal performance of the condensing tube. Additionally, it is found that the inclination angle of the condensing tube can impact the local distribution of the heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number, while there is only small effect on the average along the length of the entire tube.