Numerical study of boundary layer transition in flowing film evaporation on horizontal elliptical cylinder

Abstract

A numerical study of the onset of longitudinal transition between turbulent and laminar regimes during the evaporation of a water film is presented. These water film streams along a horizontal elliptical tube under the simultaneous effects of gravity, pressure gradients, caused by the vapor flow and curvature, and viscous forces. At the interface of water vapor, the shear stress is supposed to be negligible. Outside the boundary layer, the vapor phase velocity is obtained from potential flow. In the analysis Von Karman’s turbulence model is used and the inertia and convection terms are retained. Transfers equations are discretised by using the implicit Keller method. The effects of an initial liquid flow rate per unit of length, Froude number, temperature difference between the wall and the liquid–vapor interface and ellipticity on the transition position have been evaluated. The transition criterion has been given in term of the critical film Reynolds number (ReΓ) C .