Laminar Film Condensation of a Flowing Vapor on a Horizontal Cylinder at Normal Gravity

Abstract

An analytical solution, based on the Nusselt assumptions, has been obtained for laminar film condensation of a flowing vapor on a horizontal cylinder. In so doing, a reference temperature for evaluating locally variable fluid properties is defined in the form Tr = Tw + α (Ts − Tw) and accounts for both the effects of fluid property variations and minor errors introduced by the assumptions in the analysis. Verification was obtained by comparison with exact numerical solutions based on a finite-difference analog to the conservation equations in boundary-layer form. In the analytical as well as the numerical developments, vapor drag was accounted for through an asymptotic solution of the vapor boundary layer under strong suction. It was found that, for angles up to 140 deg, there was less than a 2 percent discrepancy between the analytical predictions and the numerical results. As 180 deg is approached an increased discrepancy is expected due to a gross violation of the Nusselt assumptions. The values of the reference parameter α, which were previously derived for condensation on a vertical surface, were found to be appropriate for the horizontal cylinder as well.