DROPWISE CONDENSATION OF STEAM ON A SMALL TUBE BUNDLE AT TURBINE CONDENSER CONDITIONS AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE TWO-PHASE FLOW ADJACENT TO A WIRE IN NUCLEATE BOILING UNDER AN ELECTRIC FIELD

Application of dropwise condensation to utility turbine condensers is investigated by comparing the thermal performance of dropwise and filmwise bundles at industrially relevant conditions. Steam and steam-air mixtures were condensed on bundles of in-line, titanium tubes. The row-by-row heat transfer coefficients are presented against bundle position. They show the expected behavior for filmwise condensation but demonstrate a different one for dropwise. In air-free steam, the dropwise heat transfer coefficients are much larger and do not vary significantly with bundle position. In air-steam mixtures the dropwise values decrease similarly to their filmwise equivalents. The findings are in accord with those found for other geometries. The findings indicate that significant reductions in condenser size can be obtained if permanent dropwise condensation can be produced at industrially relevant conditions. An experimental study of the two-phase flow near a heated wire in nucleate pool boiling is presented. A nonuniform electric field of cylindrical geometry was imposed to the heater. The two-phase flow parameters were measured using specifically developed local phase-detection optical probes. Tile study includes experiments varying the vertical distance from the heater (z) and measurements of the void fraction and the impact rate in a plane perpendicular to the heater (y-z). The results show that the void fraction decreases with applied voltage and with (z). The dependence of the void fraction and the impact rate with heal flux is complex, with a strong decrement in the impact rate and void fraction near the critical heat flux when voltage is applied. The maximum void fraction and impact rate move from the vertical centerline (z) to a position 3 heater radii away.