Effect of surface etching on condensing heat transfer

This study conducted experiments on humid air condensation during heat transfer in an air preheating exchanger attached to a home condensing boiler to improve thermal efficiency. An etchant composed of sulfuric acid and sodium nitrate was used to create roughness on the heat exchanger surface made from STS430J1L. A counter flow heat exchanger was fabricated to test the performance of heat transfer. Results showed that the overall heat transfer coefficients of all specimens treated with etchant improved with respect to the original specimens (not treated with etchant), and the overall heat transfer coefficient of the 60 s etching specimen increased by up to 15%. However, the increasing rate of the heat transfer coefficient was disproportional to the etching time. When the etching time specifically increased above 60 s, the heat transfer coefficient decreased. This effect was assumed to be caused by surface characteristics such as contact angle. Furthermore, a smaller contact angle or higher hydrophilicity leads to higher heat transfer coefficient.