Pure Steam Condensation Experiments on Nonisothermal Vertical Plates

Pure steam condensation experiments on flat channel plates have been performed. To provide a range of values of the governing groups NTU and Ad, steam was condensed crosscurrentwise on polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) plates and cocurrentwise on brass plates (8.0 × 10⁻⁶ ≤ Ad ≤ 8.4 × 10⁻², 0 ≤ NTU⁻¹ ≤ 10). The theoretical predictions, based on an analysis of Nusselt-type condensation on nonisothermal plates, agree excellently with the plastic-plate measurements. The brass-plate experiments, however, agree with the theoretical model only in a limited range of NTU and Ad.