Influence of jumping-droplet condensation on the properties of separated flow in an air-cooled condenser tube: An Euler-Lagrange approach

Abstract

An Air-cooled condenser (ACC), which finds popularity in a steam power plant in arid areas, is usually less efficient as film condensation occurs inside the condenser tube. Recent research is directed towards eliminating the thermally insulating liquid film with the application of novel superhydrophobic surfaces. The self-cleaning property of such surfaces facilitates easy condensate drainage in the form of jumping droplets exposing favourable nucleation sites, thereby significantly promoting dropwise condensation. The present study explores the characteristics of jumping droplet condensation in finite condenser tubes using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The wall-heat-flux for condensation is modelled here by a uniform suction boundary condition. The strength of suction is quantified by a suction Reynolds number Re s. We mainly focus on the zone corresponding to 2.3 < Re s < 10, where no previous solution exists. In a long horizontal tube, the progressive realization of a self-similar region starting from the developing regions is demonstrated. We examine the characteristics of the developing region based on the sign of the pressure gradient. The results of three-dimensional CFD simulations illustrate the variations of droplet trajectories with the inception size and coordinates of jumping droplets determined locally by the relative contributions of various force components, viz. gravity, axial drag in the vapour core, suction induced radial drag and Saffman lift. The present study also predicts the effect of pipeline inclination on condensate drainage. Ultimately, considering multiple jumps, we found that the maximum condensate emission can be obtained for small droplets (5−15  μm), while medium-sized droplets (20−50  μm) are most advantageous for isolated jumps.