An Analytical Study of Laminar Film Condensation: Part 2—Single and Multiple Horizontal Tubes

The boundary-layer equations for laminar film condensation are solved for (a) a single horizontal tube, and (b) a vertical bank of horizontal tubes. For the single-tube case, the inertia effects are included and the vapor is assumed to be stationary outside the vapor boundary layer. Velocity and temperature profiles are obtained for the case μvρv/μρ ≪ 1 and similarity is found to exist exactly near the top stagnation point, and approximately for the most part of the tube. Heat-transfer results computed with these similar profiles are presented and discussed. For the multiple-tube case, the analysis includes the effect of condensation between tubes, which is shown to be partly responsible for the high observed heat-transfer rate for vertical tube banks. The inertia effects are neglected due to the insufficiency of boundary-layer theory in this case. Heat-transfer coefficients are presented and compared with experiments. The theoretical results for both cases are also presented in approximate formulas for ease of application.