Abstract
An exploratory study was carried out on the condensation of air-free steam at a pressure slightly above atmospheric, on a horizontal condenser tube vibrating in the plane of the gravitational field. Experiments conducted in the frequency range 20-80 Hz with maximum amplitudes up to 0.17 in, showed that the condensation heat transfer coefficient increased with increasing intensity (af) of vibration, up to a maximum of about 15 per cent, above the vibration-free value. A perturbation analysis verified the experimental findings. Because of the small observed increases in heat transfer, it can be concluded that tube vibration effects on condensation heat transfer in power plant condensers will be negligible.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.