Condensation heat transfer correlation for water-ethanol vapor mixture flowing through a plate heat exchanger

Abstract

Condensation heat transfer coefficient (HTC) as a function of outlet vapor quality was investigated using water-ethanol vapor mixture of different ethanol vapor concentrations (0%, 1%, 2%, 5%, 10%, 20%) under three different system pressures (31 kPa, 47 kPa, 83 kPa). A heat transfer coefficient was developed by applying multiple linear regression method to experimental data, taking into account the dimensionless numbers which represents the Marangoni condensation effects, such as Re, Pr, Ja, Ma and Sh. The developed correlation can predict the condensation performance within a deviation range from −22% to 32%. Taking PHE’s characteristic into consideration and bringing in Ma number and Sh number, a new correlation was developed, which showed a much more accurate prediction, within a deviation from −3.2% to 7.9%.