Abstract:

In this paper, a two-dimension computational fluid dynamics （CFD） model of the gas-liquid two-phase flow was established, and the countercurrent and parallel operations of the two-phase flow in the plate bundles of a plate-type evaporative condenser were simulated by means of the Fluent software, thus directly illustrating the influences of the water spray flow, wind velocity and wind direction in the plate bundles on the flow of water film. An experimental investigation into the heat transfer of the two operations was then performed, with water vapor as the heat transfer medium. It is shown that the simulated resuhs accord well with the experimental ones, meaning that the parallel flow of air and water is superior to the countercurrent flow in making use of enhanced heat transfer of fluid film.

Key words: condenser, CFD simulation, enhanced heat transfer, falling film, plate bundle