Experimental investigations of heat transfer and pressure drop during the condensation process within plate heat exchangers of the herringbone-type☆

Abstract The application of compact heat exchangers to the realization of the processes with phase change gaseous-liquid is increasingly significant. However, the state of the knowledge is unsatisfactory for modelling the heat transfer and the pressure drop. Experimental investigations for condensation in channels of corrugated plates of a plate heat exchanger were carried out with the condensing vapours water and n-heptane. The loads of the vapour phase as well as the kind of the plate corrugation were used as experimental parameters. The results to the heat transfer coefficient and friction pressure drop refer to the condition of a complete condensation. An essential influence of the phase load as well as of the corrugation inclination angle is observed in the investigated range of the shear controlled two-phase flow. The intensity of heat transfer increases with a factor of approx. 3–4, compared to the calculation of the Nusselt theory of the laminar film. A discussion of the experimental data was realized on base of modelling of the turbulent two phase channel flow.