Experimental study of air-cooled water condensation in slightly inclined circular tube using infrared temperature measurement technique

Highlights: • Air-cooled condensation experiments in an inclined Pyrex glass tube were performed. • High-resolution wall temperature data and flow regime formations could be obtained. • The local heat flux was strongly dependent on the air-side heat transfer. • A CFD analysis was conducted for calculating the local heat flux distribution. - Abstract: This study presents the results of an investigation of the air-cooled water condensation heat transfer characteristics inside a slightly inclined circular tube made of transparent Pyrex glass. The high-resolution wall temperature data and stratified film formations could be obtained with the assistance of an infrared (IR) thermometry technique and side-view visualization using a CCD camera. In all experimental cases, the condensation flow patterns were in the fully-stratified flow region. In addition, the experimentally measured void fraction corresponded well with the logarithmic mean void fraction model. The local temperature differences in the cooling air flow across the condenser tube and high-resolution temperature profiles on the tube's outer wall were obtained in the experimental measurements. Under the experimental conditions of this study, the local heat flux distributions in the longitudinal direction of the test tube were strongly dependent on the cooling air velocity. And, with the help of IR thermometry, the tube outer wall temperature data at 45 local points could be measured. From the data, the asymmetry distribution of the local wall temperatures and the accurate location of the transition from two-phase mixture to single phase liquid inside the tube could be obtained. Also, the analysis of the thermal resistances by condensation, wall conduction and air convection showed that the air convective heat transfer behavior can play a dominant role to the local heat transfer characteristics. Finally, in order to obtain the local heat flux distribution along the tube's outer wall, a two-dimensional computational fluid dynamics analysis was conducted. From this calculation, it was resulted that about 70% of total heat transfer rate from the tube surface was released through the tube region lower than the center point. These results were caused by the distribution of air convective heat transfer coefficient on the tube surface.