Rigidized® Metals’ Vipertex® team exhibited, as well as gave a presentation, at Heat Exchanger World, held in Houston, Texas, October 16-17. The presentation: Increasing Energy Production Using Enhanced Surfaced Hydrophobic Tubes for Condensation Heat Transfer Applications is available for download, here.
Increasing energy use and the production of greenhouse gases (as the result of using many sources of energy) has created environmental problems that must be addressed in present and future designs. Carbon neutrality is an important goal when considering energy use; countries are exploring ways to optimize energy use and minimize carbon use. Enhancing heat transfer and increasing the efficiency of heat exchangers are essential in trying to achieve carbon neutral designs.
Condensing heat exchangers are widely used in various process engineering applications and the methods to improve energy efficiency are an objective in most designs. Typically the most effective way to enhance condensation is to thin the liquid film. In order to enhance droplet condensation, the use of hydrophobic structures is an important method to consider when wanting to enhance droplet condensation designs; this is accomplished by producing a low free energy surface- this is accomplished by using micro- and nanostructured surfaces.
Experimental results of condensation heat transfer enhancement using hydrophobic stainless steel tubes are presented.