Influences of area ratio and surface roughness on homogeneous condensation in ejector primary nozzle

Abstract Homogeneous condensation inside the ejector has been ignored by numerous researchers. In this paper, the wet steam model was utilized to study the influences of nozzle area ratio and surface roughness on homogeneous condensation in a primary nozzle. A substantial amount of latent heat is released during the homogeneous condensation process to increase static pressure and reduce Mach number. The increase of nozzle area ratio reduces condensation intensity and lowers nozzle pressure but increases liquid mass fraction. Furthermore, with the growth of surface roughness, the slightly increased dryness fraction is almost ineffective for alleviating erosion caused by tiny droplets; the slight decrease in mass flow rate will reduce ejector performance to some extent, while the sharp increase of entropy generation results in more energy wastes. Therefore, nozzle area ratio and surface roughness should be carefully designed to alleviate potential condensation and enhance ejector performance at the same time.