Determining transient heat transfer coefficient for dropwise condensation in the presence of an air flow

Abstract

It is necessary to understand humid air condensation because of its various applications, such as water harvesting. In this study, the influence of airflow on the condensation heat transfer coefficient of humid air on a horizontal surface was investigated experimentally. Airflow velocities from 1 to 15 m/s were investigated, because the condensate's shedding usually happens in this range. A relative humidity of 10–80% and subcooling temperature (Tsc) of 0–10 °C were used to achieve both single-phase and condensation regimes. To study the relationship between condensate morphology and heat transfer coefficient (HTC), transient and instantaneous heat flux measurements were required. To facilitate this, a transient inverse heat conduction method was developed to characterize the time-varying surface heat flux and associated heat transfer coefficient. A 5-fold decrease in response time was found for the transient method compared to the steady-state method. The effect of condensation parameters on the heat transfer coefficient, as well as the relationship between condensate morphology and heat transfer coefficient, is discussed. The results show that HTC for the subcooling of T = 0 °C is smaller than for other temperatures. Also, the effect of RH on condensation was investigated and higher HTC was found for higher RHs. The results clearly show that the shedding of condensate kept the average droplet size low and doubled heat transfer performance improvement.