Heat transfer coefficients for condensing organic vapors of pure components and binary mixtures

Abstract

AbstractThe behavior of the film coefficient of heat transfer for the condensation of organic vapor mixtures was investigated experimentally to establish a satisfactory basis for applying the Nusselt equation to binary systems. Five ideal and nonideal pairs, all of which gave miscible condensates, were studied; the work was carried out under conditions of almost total condensation on a horizontal condensing surface designed to comply as rigidly as possible with the conditions for which Nusselt's equation is valid.The same behavior was observed for all systems and all concentrations studied: the experimental coefficients fell between those for the pure components and followed the behavior pattern for pure components when the temperature difference was taken as that between the bubble point of the condensate and the surface temperature, rather than between the dew point or the measured vapor temperature and the surface temperature, Correlation of the film coefficient showed it to vary approximately linearly with composition if the coefficients were compared at a constant value of the temperature difference, defined as above. This permits determination of the coefficient for a mixture by interpolation between the coefficients for the pure components, which are easily obtained, in preference to making the calculations with the properties of the mixture obtained by laborious and uncertain weighting of the corresponding properties of the pure components.When results are interpreted in the light of the theories of Colburn and Drew, the presence of a vapor‐phase resistance to heat and mass transfer, as postulated by them, is indicated.