Intensification of the Condensation Process of a Steam–Air Mixture

Abstract

A method for intensifying the process of condensation of a steam–air mixture on the surface of a pipe is studied, consisting in the removal of non-condensed gas from the interphase surface by circulation vortices forming behind the protrusions of a helix installed at the heat exchange surface. With the use of the Comsol Multiphysics program, numerical simulations of the hydrodynamics of the steam–air flow were carried out and velocities in the axial and transverse directions of the moving flow were calculated. It is concluded that the flow of non-condensed gas from the interphase surface is diverted by vortices that move in the transverse direction to the moving vapor in the pipe. The results of heat transfer during condensation are presented, according to which the presence of a spiral in the cavity of the tube intensifies the process of condensation of the steam–air mixture by a factor of 2.3. The geometric parameters of the spiral are established, which ensure the greatest intensification of heat transfer during condensation.