Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6754
Title: Condensation in a square minichannel: application of the VOF method
Authors: Da Riva, E
Bortolin, S
Del Col, D
3rd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2011)
Keywords: Minichannel;Condensation;VOF method
Issue Date: 2011
Publisher: Brunel University
Citation: 3rd Micro and Nano Flows Conference, Thessaloniki, Greece, 22-24 August 2011
Abstract: A number of steady-state simulations of condensation of R134a at mass fluxes G=100 kg m-2s-1 and G=800 kg m-2s-1 inside a square cross section minichannel (Dh=1mm) are here proposed and compared against similar simulations in a circular cross section channel with same diameter. The VOF (Volume Of Fluid) method is used to track the vapour-liquid interface and the effects of interfacial shear stress and surface tension are both taken into account. A uniform wall temperature is fixed as boundary condition. At G=100 kg m-2s-1 the liquid film is assumed laminar and the vapour flow is turbulent; turbulence is handled by a low-Reynolds number form of the standard k-w model (Wilcox, 1998), which was modified in order to suppress the turbulent viscosity inside the liquid phase. At G=800 kg m-2s-1 a low Re form of the SST k-w model (Menter, 1994) has been used for turbulence modeling through both the liquid and vapour phases. Numerical simulations are validated against experimental data. The present paper looks at the effect of surface tension. Its influence on the shape of the vapour-liquid interface provides some heat transfer enhancement in non-circular minichannels. In circular minichannels, the overall effect of surface tension is shown to be not significant. On the contrary, the effect of surface tension in square channels provides a large enhancement at low mass flux.
Description: This paper was presented at the 3rd Micro and Nano Flows Conference (MNF2011), which was held at the Makedonia Palace Hotel, Thessaloniki in Greece. The conference was organised by Brunel University and supported by the Italian Union of Thermofluiddynamics, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, University of Thessaly, IPEM, the Process Intensification Network, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Heat Transfer Society, HEXAG - the Heat Exchange Action Group, and the Energy Institute.
URI: http://bura.brunel.ac.uk/handle/2438/6754
ISBN: 978-1-902316-98-7
Appears in Collections:Brunel Institute for Bioengineering (BIB)
The Brunel Collection

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