ANALYSIS OF THE NONTHERMAL EQUILIBRIUM CONDENSING FLOW OF A GAS THROUGH A PACKED-BED

In this paper, the transient forced convective condensing flow of a gas through a packed bed is analyzed. The model developed for this analysis does not employ any local thermal equilibrium assumption between the solid and the fluid phases. Inertial as well as viscous effects are considered in the vapor phase momentum equation by using the Ergun-Forchheimer relation. Thermal charging of the packed bed for two different types of boundary conditions and the condensation in the vapor phase are studied. Qualitative comparisons of the effects of different parameters on condensation reveal that the pressure difference applied across the packed bed, the particle size of the solid phase, and the heat capacity of the solid phase are very influential on condensation. It is observed that although two-dimensional modeling is essential for accurate results in the case of constant wall temperature boundary conditions, one-dimensional modeling would be quite satisfactory in the case of insulated boundary conditions. © 1990.