Experimental study of falling-film mode transitions between horizontal tubes in CaCl2/water absorber

Abstract

It is important to accurately predict the flow mode especially intertube falling-film mode of absorbent for its great impact on the heat and mass transfer in a horizontal tube absorber. In this paper, a test facility used to study falling-film outside horizontal tubes was built, and experiments were conducted to explore the intertube mode transitions with water-calcium chloride (CaCl2/water) solution in quiescent surroundings. The correlations which are more suitable for predicting CaCl2/water solution intertube mode transitions were developed. In general, the transitional Re will decrease with the solution concentration increasing, and its effects increase with the transitions from droplet mode to sheet mode. Hysteresis exists in all the mode transitions, and it is more obvious for low concentration solutions. The results may be an important support for modeling, designing and operating of CaCl2/water falling-film absorber.