INTENSIFICATION OF HEAT AND MASS TRANSFER IN CHANNELS OF PLATE CONDENSERS

An analysis is presented for the main factors which control the intensity of vapor condensation in plate condenser channels, such as heat transfer both in single-phase stream of the coolant and in the condensate film, heat and mass transfer in gas-vapor phase, thermal resistance of fouling at heat transfer surface and pressure drop in condensing stream. On the basis of a relationship between the heat transfer and the wall shear stress, an approximate equation is obtained for calculating heat transfer from the pressure drop data. For calculation of heat transfer in condensate film during the condensation of high speed vapor, an analogy between heat and momentum transport has been used. An analysis of fouling deposition on heat transfer surface has been performed and an equation is presented for calculating the reduction of the fouling thermal resistance as compared with shell and lube heat exchangers. Experimental data are in good agreement with theoretical results. These data have shown the improvement of all the mentioned factors, which determine the intensity of the whole condensation process compared to the same factors in shell and tube condensers. Under the equal conditions, the required area of the heat transfer surface is reduced by 1.6 to 3 times for the plate condenser, as compared with conventional shell and tube units.