New experimental method for inundation effect of film condensation on horizontal tube bundle

Theory of film condensation heat transfer (FCHT) for vapor condensed on horizontal tube bundle (HTB) is vital to many industry processes. Meanwhile, the inundation effect is the key to model the film condensation heat transfer coefficient (CHTC) on HTB. This paper proposed a new experimental method, homologous method, to obtain the inundation effect precisely. Based on the requirements of the new test method, a new test facility was designed and established. Then, the superiority of homologous method for inundation effect was investigated based on experiment result and theoretic analysis. The results showed that the homogenous method can effectively control the experimental error of inundation effect, which is less than 50% of the error of CHTC, and less than 30% of the error of the inundation effect gained by routine method. The new test facility built for the homogenous method is excellent in obtaining the accurate inundation effect of film condensation on HTB. All the result is a foundation of the theoretical development of the FCHT on HTB.