Natural convection heat and mass transfer from falling films in vertical channels

In the design of solar collector/regenerators for use in open cycle absorption refrigeration (OCAR) units, the problem of predicting evaporation rates and solution temperatures is of paramount importance in determining overall cycle performance. This transport of heat and mass is dominated by natural convection with buoyant forces primarily generated as a result of film heating by the solar flux, but aided by the evaporation of water (the lighter species) into the rising moist air stream. In order to better understand the mechanism of these combined buoyant interactions, the governing equations for natural convection flow in a vertical channel bounded by a heated falling film (simulating a glazed collector/regenerator) were solved using several different finite difference techniques. The numerical results were validated against existing experimental and numerical results for simplified boundary conditions. The appropriate nondimensionalization for the falling film boundary condition was established, ostensibly for the first time, and a parametric study for an air-water vapor mixture has been presented. Curve fits to the numerical results were determined for engineering design applications.; To further confirm the validity of the numerical solutions, an experimental apparatus was constructed using electric resistance heat to simulate the constant heat flux of the solar source. Water was introduced at the top of this heated vertical surface at various flow rates and under various supplied heat fluxes, and a natural convection channel flow generated between the heated falling film and a parallel, plexiglass surface. Film temperatures and moist air velocity profiles were measured at various streamwise (vertical) locations for comparison with the numerical results.; In general, measured film temperatures were 15 to 20 percent lower than the predicted values, but came to within 3 percent of the predictions when experimental uncertainty was incorporated into the numerical inputs. Photographic smoke-wire measurements of the induced moist air velocity were about 20 percent higher than the numerical predictions for small channel gap spacing, and about 50 percent higher for large gap spacing. These trends in the data indicate that a redistribution of the supplied heat flux from the film to the moist air is required to lower predicted film temperatures and raise predicted gas velocities. Physically plausible arguments to explain this redistribution and suggestions for improving the numerical predictions and the experimental measurements are offered.