PREDICTION OF CONDENSATION HEAT TRANSFER COEFFICIENT IN HORIZONTAL INTEGRAL-FIN TUBE BUNDLES

A method of predicting the condensation heat transfer coefficient in horizontal integral-fin tube bundles with negligible vapor shear is proposed and compared with experimental results. This method is based on an analytical model talcing the condensate inundation effect into account, where the condensation heat transfer coefficient decreases due to a decrease in effective fin area as condensate flows through the interfin spaces. Heat transfer measurements were carried out in eight-row tube bundles consisting of integral-fin tubes with 35, 26, and 16 fins/in. Refrigerants Rll and R114 were used as test fluids. The proposed method was able to predict the condensation heat transfer coefficient with enough accuracy to enable condensers to be designed without the need for complex calculations.