Author(s): Suraj Shankar; Anna-Lena Ljung; Staffan Lundstrom; Dragana Arlov; Alfred Jungsma
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Keywords: No Keywords
Abstract: This work investigates condensation of superheated steam on a freely falling water droplet using a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) framework. A multiphase Volume-of-Fluid (VOF) approach is employed to resolve the liquid–vapor interface, while the coupled mass, momentum, and energy equations are solved to capture the velocity and thermal fields around the droplet. The study evaluates the performance of the Lee phase-change model for predicting interfacial mass transfer. Attention is given to the sensitivity of predicted condensation rates, droplet temperature evolution, and heat-transfer behavior to the empirical phase-change coefficient, mesh resolution near the interface, and timestep size. Both two-dimensional axisymmetric and three-dimensional droplet configurations are considered. Preliminary results indicate that while the Lee model captures qualitative condensation trends, quantitative predictions depend strongly on numerical resolution and model tuning. These findings motivate the investigation of alternative interfacial mass-transfer formulations.
Year: 2026