Independent measurement of condensation and vaporisation heat transfer coefficients: An alternative to the Wilson plot method suitable for multiphase exchangers

摘要

We present a novel method to separate, using only overall performance measurements, the heat transfer coefficient of the vaporisation and the condensation side in plate-fin downflow reboiler-condensers. The core of the technique is to test two reboilers with different fins. By comparing their performances and the changes in the geometry, the relative weights of both streams can be captured.This method can be seen as an alternative, also applicable to multiphase exchangers, to the Wilson plot method used for monophase exchangers. With the help of a numerical model, with show that the best accuracy is achieved in our case by changing the length of the fins of the condensation side. We then showcase our method on actual experimental data.Although we focus on the case of downflow reboiler-condensers, we firmly believe that the technique can be advantageously applied to a wide class of exchangers. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.