Lattice Boltzmann simulation of forced condensation flow on a horizontal cold surface in the presence of a non-condensable gas

Abstract A multi-component/multi-phase (MCMP) lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) with vapor/liquid phase change is proposed in this paper. Two equations of state (EOS) including Peng-Robinson (PR) EOS for water and ideal gas EOS for the non-condensable gas (NCG) are applied in the thermal equation. Based on this newly developed MCMP phase-change LB model, the problem of forced condensing flow on a horizontal cold plate at constant wall temperature in the presence of NCG is simulated. Effects of the NCG inlet fraction and plate subcooled temperature on forced film condensation under the same inlet velocity are simulated. Condensate film thickness, distributions of velocity/temperature/NCG fraction in the entire flow field, as well as condensation heat transfer on the cold plate are obtained numerically. The effect of an interfacial parameter (containing inlet NCG fraction and wall temperature) on film thickness is shown in good agreement with an existing analytical model, which validates the correctness and accuracy of this newly developed MCMP phase-change LB model. Since this novel model does not involve any approximations/assumptions nor the use of empirical correlations for interfacial mass transfer, the results can be considered as the first attempt in the direct numerical simulation of laminar forced condensation heat transfer on a horizontal cold plate in the presence of a NCG.