Effect of Tube Geometry and Curvature on Film Condensation in the Presence of a Noncondensable Gas

Based on the double boundary layer theory, a generalized mathematical model was developed to study the distributions of gas film, liquid film, and heat transfer coefficient along the tube surface with different geometries and curvatures for film condensation in the presence of a noncondensable gas. The results show that: (i) for tubes with the same geometry, gas film thickness, and liquid film thickness near the top of the tube decrease with the increasing of curvature and the heat transfer rate increases with it. (ii) For tubes with different geometries, one need to take into account all factors to compare their overall heat transfer rate including gas film thickness, liquid film thickness and the separating area. Besides, the mechanism of the drainage and separation of gas film and liquid film was analyzed in detail. One can make a conclusion that for free convection, gas film never separate since parameter A is always positive, whereas liquid film can separate if parameter B becomes negative. The separating angle of liquid film decreases with the increasing of curvature.