Metal Vapor Condensation Under High Pressure Mercury Vapor To 500 Psia Heat Transfer Coefficients

Mercury vapor up to 500 psia was condensed outside a cylindrical tube in both horizontal and vertical positions. Results show consistently low heat transfer coefficients compared to Nusselt's theory. Two auxiliary mercury vapor condensers downstream of the boiler vent were used to control and safeguard the system. Constantan wires were spot welded on the surface inside the test condenser tube. The heat flux ranged from 20,000 to 45,000 Btu/h-ft2 and the temperature differences between vapor and condensing wall from 6 to 50°F. The condensation heat transfer coefficients, ranging from 850 to 3,500 Btu/h-°F-ft2, are only about 3 to 9 percent of those predicted by Nusselt's theory. Due to the positive pressure in the system for most test runs, the chance of any in-leakage of noncondensable gases into the boiler is extremely small. Since no substantial change of heat transfer rate resulted from wide variations in the heat load on the reflux condenser at some specific heat flux on the test condenser tube, the low heat transfer rate of mercury vapor condensation was not due to the presence of any non-condensable gas. The test data for high vapor pressure up to 500 psia reveal that the heat transfer coefficient is independent of the vapor pressure level. The condensation coefficients calculated based on kinetic theory are much smaller than unity and decreasewith vapor pressure. It is hypothesized that dimer content in the metal vapor phase might behave as non-condensable or semi-condensable gas and create a diffusional barrier at the vapor-liquid interface near the condensate film. This dimer vapor could be the main cause of interfacial resistance during metal vapor condensation process. 41 figures, 7 tables, 58 references. (DLC).