Condensation of vapours on a fin in the presence of non-condensable gas

Condensation of vapours on a vertical fin in the presence of non-condensabl e gas is formulated and solved for a wide range of system parameters, makin g use of the analogy between heat and mass transfer. The formulation enable s the derivation of special cases such as condensation of vapours on a vert ical isothermal surface with and without non-condensable gas in the vapour. Besides, the analysis of condensation of vapour on a fin has revealed non- isothermal conditions of the thin fin with the temperature of the liquid-va pour interface also changing along the length of the fin. The numerical res ults from the analysis are rendered into dimensionless equations that can b e used to predict the mean condensation heat transfer coefficients. (C) 200 1 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.