Modeling condensation heat transfer on a horizontal finned tube in the presence of noncondensable gases Original Research Article

European designs for the next generation of nuclear reactors incorporate innovative passive systems in their containments to enhance heat removal by condensation under postulated accident conditions. These systems consist of several units of cross-flow finned tube bundles internally cooled with water. So far most of the studies that have been addressed to the issue of heat transfer onto finned surfaces under condensing conditions have involved refrigerants and pure vapor conditions. This study presents a model (HTCFIN) capable of predicting condensation of a cross-flow air–steam mixture onto a single horizontal finned tube. The comparison of HTCFIN predictions to the available databases shows its acceptable accuracy in a wide range of conditions and allows an interpretation of the influence of major variables acting on the scenario. As a consequence, HTCFIN model represents a step forward in the present theoretical capability to estimate heat transfer within containments of next generation of European reactors in the case of a hypothetical accident.