Effects of spray modeling on heat and mass transfer in air-water spray systems in parallel flow

The heat and mass transfer equations for a co-flow water spray in air were solved for different combinations of drop diameter category and velocity sub-class, and compared with experimental data. For uniform drop velocities, the number of categories was increased to 10, 50, 100 and 200, as against 5 in an earlier study. Best predictions were obtained with 100 categories. For 5 categories, 10, 20 and 40 velocity sub-classes within each category were introduced, and predictions were slightly better than with a single velocity. Results with 100 categories-1 velocity and 10 categories-10 velocity sub-classes were similar; the latter matched experiments mostly within +/- 15% as against +/- 30% in an earlier study. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.