CFD modeling of condensation process of water vapor in supersonic flows

Yang, Yan; Walther, Jens Honore; Yan, Yuying; Wen, Chuang

Abstract

The condensation phenomenon of vapor plays an important role in various industries, such as the steam flow in turbines and refrigeration system. A mathematical model is developed to predict the spontaneous condensing phenomenon in the supersonic flows using the nucleation and droplet growth theories. The numerical approach is validated with the experimental data, which shows a good agreement between them. The condensation characteristics of water vapor in the Laval nozzle are described in detail. The results show that the condensation process is a rapid variation of the vapor-liquid phase change both in the space and in time. The spontaneous condensation of water vapor will not appear immediately when the steam reaches the saturation state. Instead, it occurs further downstream the nozzle throat, where the steam is in the state of supersaturation.

Citation

Yang, Y., Walther, J. H., Yan, Y., & Wen, C. (2017). CFD modeling of condensation process of water vapor in supersonic flows. Applied Thermal Engineering, 115, 1357-1362. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.01.047

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 14, 2017
• Online Publication Date: Jan 17, 2017
• Publication Date: Mar 25, 2017
• Deposit Date: Feb 28, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 28, 2017
• Journal: Applied Thermal Engineering
• Print ISSN: 1359-4311
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-5606
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 115
• Pages: 1357-1362
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.01.047
• Keywords: Condensation; Water vapor; Laval nozzle; Supersonic flow
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/852058
• Publisher URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359431117302983
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: CFD modeling of condensation process of water vapor in supersonic flows; Journal Title: Applied Thermal Engineering; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2017.01.047; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
• Contract Date: Feb 28, 2017