Theoretical study of superheated vapor effect on liquid film condensation in a saturated porous medium using Forchheimer's model

Abstract

AbstractIn this work, the superheated vapor effect on liquid film condensation in a saturated porous medium using Forchheimer's model has been investigated analytically and numerically. The applied governing equations, the continuity equation, the Forchheimer equation, and the energy equation were transformed using the similarity transformation technique into a dimensionless form using a set of suitable variables and then solved numerically using the Runge–Kutta method. Results obtained were graphically drawn to illustrate the effects of superheated vapor and subcooled liquid on the liquid film condensation, temperature, and heat transfer rate through the porous medium. It was found that the film thickness is a function of dimensionless parameters related to the degree of subcooling and Grashof number without a superheating effect. Consequently, the Nusselt number depends on the square root of the Rayleigh number, the Grashof number, and the dimensionless film thickness. It was also found that if superheating exists, the liquid film thickness then depends on four dimensionless parameters related to the Grashof number, the degree of subcooling of the liquid, the extent of the superheating of the surrounding vapor, and a property ratio of the liquid and the vapor phase.