Characterization of column flow regimes on horizontal tubes for falling‐film systems: An experimental approach

Abstract The intertube flow regimes and hydrodynamic behavior of the liquid profile have a significant impact on the functioning of falling‐film evaporators. Column flow is one of the fundamental flow modes, which is actively observed in many industrial evaporators. A high‐speed digital photographic device is utilized to visualize the complete progression of column flow phases for intertube distances of 10/20/30/40 mm and Reynolds number (Re) values ranging from 41 to 583. The Sobel edge detection algorithm is implemented to quantify the flow parameters for each frame of a sequence. The research results indicated that the column flow regime between the inline horizontal tubes can be broadly classified into the following phases: columnar droplet flow, periodic column flow, satellite drops column flow, drift column flow, and mixing liquid film column flow. The findings show that the liquid jet diameters between the tubes range from 1.6 to 8.46 mm, an increase in the liquid jet diameter with Re and a decrease with tube‐to‐tube distance. The axial coverage of the liquid film profile beneath the tube differed from 2.07 to 3.99 mm and over the tube surface ranged from 1.14 to 2.68 mm. The formation of dry spots and flooding is a major problem in the operation of falling‐film heat exchangers. The shape and size of the liquid jet have a direct impact on the interfacial area; understanding the entire progression of column flow regimes, as well as their characteristics, can help designers avoid the aforementioned problem.