FILM CONDENSATION OF R-113 ON STAGGERED BUNDLES OF HORIZONTAL FINNED TUBES

Film condensation of R-113 on staggered bundles of horizontal finned tubes with vertical vapor downflow was experimentally investigated. Two tubes with flat-sided annular fins and four tubes with three-dimensional fins were tested. The condensate flow and heat transfer characteristics were compared with the previous results for in-line bundles of the same test tubes and a staggered bundle of smooth tubes. The decrease in heat transfer due to condensate inundation was most significant for the in-line bundles of the three-dimensional fin tubes, whereas the decrease was very slow for both the staggered and in-line bundles of the flat-sided fin tubes. The predictions of the previous theoretical model for a bundle of flat-sided fin tubes agreed fairly well with the measured data at a low vapor velocity. The highest heat transfer performance was provided by the staggered bundle of flat-sided fin tubes with fin dimensions close to the theoretically determined optimum values.