The analysis of the fluxion and heat transfer in the liquid film during the process of horizontal tube falling film

: In this paper, a fixed three-dimensional model was applied to simulate liquid film spreading process and heat transfer process. The so-called volume of fluid (VOF) method was used to deal with the interface between the liquid and gas phase by using Fluent 14.5. It was found that two adjacent columns both spread along the axial direction and collide with each other at the midpoint between two columns and a crest is formed. The composition and heat is mixed in the liquid film fully at the crest, which broke the velocity and temperature boundary layers, promoting the heat transfer between liquid film and tube wall. Besides, the temperature of liquid film is increased with the circumferential direction and reaching the maximum temperature at the bottom of the tube.