New flow condensation heat transfer model for methane and ethane

Abstract

Methane and ethane are the main components in Liquefied natural gas and they belong to the group of natural refrigerants with high thermodynamic performances. In addition, methane and ethane are also the main components in mixture Joule-Thomson low temperature refrigerators (MJTR). Thus, the intensive study on flow condensation heat transfer of methane and ethane is necessary for design and optimization of LNG industrial facilities and the low-temperature Joule-Thomson refrigerator. Based on the optimal selection of published models and the comparison with experimental data of methane and ethane, a new calculation model to predict condensation heat transfer coefficient based on flow patterns is presented. Furthermore, the comparisons of the new model and other models in literature were made to evaluate its accuracy in heat transfer prediction.