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Convection
Steven Manole
ME 406
Prof. Koplik
The flow of heat through a condenser tube wall differs depending on whether or not the
condenser experiences free or forced convection. By measuring the temperature difference across the
tube wall for both of these cases, the overall heat transfer coefficient can be be determined. In addition
to the heat lost through the condenser wall, the entire system loses heat due to the combined effect of
convection and radiation. These losses are estimated using the overall heat transfer coefficient.
Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................. 1
Procedure .................................................................................................... 2
Theory ..................................................................................................... 5
Results ..................................................................................................... 7
Analysis ................................................................................................... 9
Conclusion ............................................................................................... 11
References ............................................................................................... 12
Appendix ..................................................................................................13
Manole 1
Introduction
Dealing with heat transfer in a condenser is made all the more difficult due to the fact that the
cooled vapor forms a film of droplets on the surface of the condenser. This film serves to cover the
cooler surface of the condenser wall, preventing further vapor from forming a condensate. Condensers
are built to be vertical, so that the droplets of film are able to drain from the surface more rapidly. This
creates an interesting effect, as the thickness of the film on the lower surface is much greater than the
thickness on the higher surface due to gravity. Therefore, the upper portion is much more effective at
transferring heat. Since it can be difficult to calculate the heat transfer of such a complicated problem, it
Procedure
The system used in this experiment is diagrammed in Figure 1. The boiler (B) is fed by a water
supply tank (A). After being heated into steam by the boiler, the vapor enters the condenser (C). Here,
it condenses into droplets on the surface and is received through the exit at the bottom. Simultaneously,
cooling water is fed into the head control tank (D). This tank is connected to the cooling tube, which
passes the cool water through the center of the condenser. This cooling water, which has increased in
Each aspect of this system serves a purpose. The boiler supply tank limits the level of water
Manole 3
inside the boiler, ensuring that the mass of the system remains constant. The condenser works through
the use of cooling water that passes upward through the condenser tube, causing the steam to condense
on the outside surface of the cooling tube. The steam also condenses on the inside surface of the
condenser jacket due to heat escaping from the system into the room. The head control tank manages
the level of the cooling water, allowing for forced or free convection depending on the height of the
water.
The experiment is performed at both forced and free convection levels for twenty minutes each.
During the experiment, the condensate is collected and its volume measured from the exit of the
condenser. The weight of cooling water collected in the tank is also measured. At certain points
throughout the system, thermocouples are attached to provide temperature readings. The locations of
these thermocouples are shown in Figure 1, and compiled in Table 1. These temperatures are recorded
four times for each run, and averaged for a final result.
Manole 4
Designation Location
T1 Steam in
T11 Room
Theory
The rate of change of heat in a cooling fluid can be calculated from a simple thermodynamic
relationship:
q= mc T (1)
Where m represents the rate of change of mass, c the heat capacity of the fluid, and T the
change in temperature. In addition, the rate of change of heat in a condensing gas can be found through:
q=H v m (2)
Since the condensing steam first cools, then undergoes a phase change to water, and cools further, the
total heat loss for this process can be found by summing all three of these losses. In order to perform
these calculations, however, the initial and final temperatures must be found. Using Figure 1 in the
previous section, the designations for the required temperatures can be located. Of note is the final
value of the condensate, which is the average of T3 and T4. The condensate is collected both on the
wall of the condenser and the wall of the cooling tube, so both values must be averaged.
Equation (1) is used once again to determine the rate of change of heat in the cooling water. It
will be assumed that all heat not lost to the cooling water is lost through the wall of the condenser. This
means that the rate of change of heat through the condenser wall is the difference between the
magnitude of heat lost by the condensing steam, and the heat lost to the cooling water. Finally, in order
q
U 0= (3)
A surface T
Manole 6
Sample Calculations
V 0.963 g/mL515 mL
m= = =1487.8 g/hr
t 20 min1/60 hr/min
( T 3+ T 4 )
qcondensate =mc water(T 10 )
2
(199+ 200)
qcondensate =1487.8 g/hr1 Btu/lb F( 205 ) F0.0022 lb/g=20.13 Btu/hr
2
117 oz
qcooling = mc water(T 2T 7)= 0.997 Btu/lb F(19174)F=2548.6 Btu/hr
20 min
16 oz/lb
60 min/hr
51
Asurface =dh= 25=250.3 in^2
16
Results
Free Convection
Water Quantity Thermocouple (F)
Cup Tube Wall Condenser
Bolier Feed Cooling Water Cooling Water Boiler Surface
Time (min) Steam In Condensate Condenser Surface
(mL) (oz) Out Outside
Out Out Outside
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6
0 0 296 214.7 193 204 205 198 209
5 125 322 215.4 190.5 191.8 182.8 193.7 209.6
10 130 352 215.9 192.7 204.2 205.5 197.6 209.6
15 135 382 216.2 185.9 194.9 205 198.4 210.2
20 125 413
Tube Area
(in^2)
61.3592315154
del_q
U_0 (Btu/hr U_0 (Btu/hr h2 (Btu/ hr
condenser
in^2 F) ft^2 F) ft^2 F)
wall (Btu/hr)
-674.3368841 0.2666953639 38.404132408 18.931052347
U_cool
(Btu/hr ft^2 F)
117.36355598
Manole 8
Forced Convection
Water Quantity Thermocouple (F)
Cup Tube Wall Condenser
Bolier Feed Cooling Water Cooling Water Boiler Surface
Time (min) Steam In Condensate Condenser Surface
(mL) (oz) Out Outside
Out Out Outside
T1 T2 T3 T4 T5 T6
0 0 468 217 111.9 188.4 184 178.6 211.2
5 150 584 217 105.2 183 174.1 174 210.6
10 120 676 217.3 113 190 181 176.5 211.3
15 140 776 217.5 103 183.7 176.1 175.4 211.8
20 140 870
Tube Area
(in^2)
61.3592315154
del_q
U_0 (Btu/hr U_0 (Btu/hr h2 (Btu/ hr
condenser
in^2 F) ft^2 F) ft^2 F)
wall (Btu/hr)
-763.9489104 0.4015232045 57.819341445 28.134428976
U_cool
(Btu/hr ft^2 F)
124.88383914
Manole 9
Analysis
From the results, it has been determined that the coefficient of overall heat transfer, U_0, is 38.4
Btu / (hr-in^2-F) for free convection and 57.8 Btu/ (hr-in^2-F) for forced convection. This makes sense,
as it would be expected that more heat be transferred through forced convection versus free convection.
r2
r 1 ln( )
1 r1 1 r1
=R= + + (4)
U0 k A1 h1 A1 h2 r 2 A1
one can estimate the expected value for U_0. However, since there is no film on the outside of the
condenser, the convection coefficient h_2 does not come from the values for film coefficients. The
other heat transfer coefficients, however, can be estimated. The conduction coefficient through the
condenser wall, k, is about 25 Btu / (hr-ft-F) for steel. For the purpose of this analysis, let it be assumed
at first that the heat transfer coefficient h_1 is much larger than h_2. Therefore, it is simple to assume
r1 U
h 2= (5)
r2 r
U r 1 ln( 2 )
r1
A 1
k
The resulting values for h_2 are 18.9 Btu / (hr-ft^2-F) for free convection and 28.1 Btu / (hr-ft^2-F) for
1
h1 = (6)
r ln(r 2 /r 1 ) r
A1 R 1 1
k r2 h 2
yields h_1 = 416.8 Btu/(hr-ft^2-F) for both free and forced convection. Since h_1 >> h_2, the
The convection coefficient for free convection of air should vary between 0.88 and 4.41 Btu/
(hr-ft^2-F). Since h_2 for free convection was 18.9 Btu/(hr-ft^2-F), this value is much higher than
would be expected. The reasons for such a differing value are discussed in the conclusion. For forced
convection, the value for h_2 was within the range of expected values. The convection coefficient
should be between 1.76 and 35.25 Btu/(hr-ft^2-F), so 28.1 Btu/(hr-ft^2-F) is a reasonable result.
Using empirical values for U_0 is another method that can be used to validate these results. The
expected value for U_0 in a steam-water condenser is between 350 and 750 Btu/(hr-ft^2-F). The results
of 38.4 and 57.8 Btu/(hr-ft^2-F) are far below these expected values. However, the heat transfer
through the condenser tube wall is not the only source of heat loss. In addition, there is also the heat
transfer to the cooling water, which is much larger than the heat transfer through the condenser tube
wall. The values for the overall heat transfer coefficient to the cooling water are 117.4 and 124.9 Btu/
(hr-ft^2-F) for free and forced convection respectively. In addition, it is likely that there are other
sources of heat loss, as the system was not perfectly insulated. It is reasonable to assume that these
combined sources of heat loss will result in an overall heat transfer coefficient for the system that is
The total rate of heat loss from the equipment can be estimated using thermodynamics analysis
on the condensing steam. The heat lost from the system must be equivalent to the sum of the heat lost
from the temperature changes of the steam and water, and the phase change from steam to water. This
total rate of heat loss has been estimated to be 3223 Btu/hr for free convection and 3503 Btu/hr for
forced convection. To check if this estimate is reasonable, consider that 1100W of power entered the
system. Therefore, the same amount of heat should be leaving the system, as long as the overall
temperature of the system is not increasing. 1100 W is equal to 3753 Btu/hr, so this estimate is very
reasonable.
Manole 11
Conclusion
The results of the experiment had strong correlations with empirical observations. This both
confirms the empirical results and validates the experimental results. However, there were still some
disparities between the empirical and experimental values. The value furthest from the expected value
was the convective heat transfer coefficient for air for free convection. At a value of 18.9 Btu/
(hr-ft^2-F), it was far from the expected interval of 0.88 to 4.41 Btu/(hr-ft^2-F). One reason for this
error could be that the free convection was not perfect, and at times, the heat transfer problem
resembled that of forced convection. Since there was human error in determining the level of the
cooling water, it is reasonable to assume that the water level may have been too high during this portion
of the experiment. Another explanation could be that there were minor air currents in the room, causing
Another result that warrants explanation is the difference between the power input into the
system of 3753 Btu and the resulting heat losses of only 3223 and 3503 Btu. Since the temperature of
the system remained constant, the heat into the system should equal the heat leaving the system.
However, only the heat lost inside the condenser was accounted for. The difference in heat can be
explained by the heat lost between the boiler and the condenser. Since that portion of the system was
not perfectly insulated, some of the power that entered the system left as heat before even entering the
condenser.
Manole 12
References
"Heat Transfer Coefficients Typical Values." H & C Heat Transfer. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.
ME 406 Lab Manual. Heat Transfer by Free and Forced Convction. Sept 2005.
"Water - Thermal Properties." Engineering Toolbox. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.
"Water Vapor - Specific Heat." Engineering Toolbox. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2013.