Experimental and numerical investigation on U-shaped tube liquid-separation plate condenser

Plate heat exchanger is a kind of widely used efficient energy exchange equipment, which has the advantages of high heat transfer coefficient, compact structure, easy cleaning and maintenance. However, the accumulation of condensate forming liquid film weakens heat transfer effect of ordinary plate condenser (OPC). Effectiveness of liquid-separation condensation on improving heat transfer effect has been confirmed in previous research, but the design of liquid-separation unit may cause insufficient vapor-liquid separation thereby hindering the improvement of heat exchange effect. In this paper, a novel U-shaped tube liquid-separation plate condenser (LPC) is firstly designed. Moreover, this research mainly focused on investigating the feasibility of U-shaped liquid-separation unit, the universal applicability of the LPC and structure optimization of the LPC. Experimental results indicate that the heat transfer capacity of the LPC is increased 1 to 1.5 times than that of the OPC and the heat transfer coefficient of the LPC could be improved up to 31.2%, heat transfer coefficient improving rate of the LPC is in the range of 20% to 36% under different cooling methods. Furthermore, numerical results on structure optimization of the LPC are the short-to-long axis ratio at 0.6, the 2-stages liquid-separation and the liquid-separation position at 3/4, respectively. This work has potential for practical application.

Automated summary

A novel U-shaped tube liquid-separation plate condenser (LPC) was designed and its heat transfer capacity was increased by 1 to 1.5 times compared to the ordinary plate condenser. The heat transfer coefficient of the LPC was improved up to 31.2%. The structure optimization of the LPC resulted in a short-to-long axis ratio of 0.6, a 2-stages liquid-separation, and a liquid-separation position at 3/4.