Refrigerant R134a condensation heat transfer and pressure drop inside a small brazed plate heat exchanger

This paper presents the experimental tests on HFC-134a condensation inside a small brazed plate heat exchanger: the effects of refrigerant mass flux, saturation temperature and vapour super-heating are investigated.A transition point between gravity controlled and forced convection condensation has been found for a refrigerant mass flux around 20 kg/m² s. For refrigerant mass flux lower than 20 kg/m² s, the saturated vapour heat transfer coefficients are not dependent on mass flux and are well predicted by the Nusselt [Nusselt, W., 1916. Die oberflachenkondensation des wasserdampfes. Z. Ver. Dt. Ing. 60, 541–546, 569–575] analysis for vertical surface. For refrigerant mass flux higher than 20 kg/m² s, the saturated vapour heat transfer coefficients depend on mass flux and are well predicted by the Akers et al. [Akers, W.W., Deans, H.A., Crosser, O.K., 1959. Condensing heat transfer within horizontal tubes. Chem. Eng. Prog. Symp. Ser. 55, 171–176] equation. In the forced convection condensation region, the heat transfer coefficients show a 30% increase for a doubling of the refrigerant mass flux. The condensation heat transfer coefficients of super-heated vapour are 8–10% higher than those of saturated vapour and are well predicted by the Webb [Webb, R.L., 1998. Convective condensation of superheated vapour. ASME J. Heat Transfer 120, 418–421] model. The heat transfer coefficients show weak sensitivity to saturation temperature. The frictional pressure drop shows a linear dependence on the kinetic energy per unit volume of the refrigerant flow and therefore a quadratic dependence on the refrigerant mass flux.     

Refrigerant R134a vaporisation heat transfer and pressure drop inside a small brazed plate heat exchanger

This paper presents the experimental heat transfer coefficients and pressure drop measured during refrigerant R134a vaporisation inside a small brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE): the effects of heat flux, refrigerant mass flux, saturation temperature and outlet conditions are investigated. The BPHE tested consists of 10 plates, 72 mm in width and 310 mm in length, which present a macro-scale herringbone corrugation with an inclination angle of 65° and corrugation amplitude of 2 mm.The experimental results are reported in terms of refrigerant side heat transfer coefficients and frictional pressure drop. The heat transfer coefficients show great sensitivity both to heat flux and outlet conditions and weak sensitivity to saturation temperature. The frictional pressure drop shows a linear dependence on the kinetic energy per unit volume of the refrigerant flow.The experimental heat transfer coefficients are also compared with two well-known correlations for nucleate pool boiling and a correlation for frictional pressure drop is proposed.     

Evaporation heat transfer and pressure drop of ammonia in a mixed configuration chevron plate heat exchanger

Ammonia is a naturally occurring environment friendly refrigerant with attractive thermo-physical properties. Experimental investigation of heat transfer and pressure drop during steady state evaporation of ammonia in a commercial plate heat exchanger has been carried out for an un-symmetric 30°/60° chevron plate configuration. Experiments were conducted for saturation temperatures ranging from −25 °C to −2 °C. The heat flux was varied between 21 kW m⁻² and 44 kW m⁻². Experimental results show significant effect of saturation temperature, heat flux and exit vapor quality on heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop. Current mixed plate configuration data are compared with previous studies on the same heat exchanger with symmetric plate configurations. This comparison highlighted importance of optimization in selection of the heat exchangers. Correlations for two phase Nusselt number and friction factor for each chevron plate configuration considered are developed. A Nusselt number correlation generalized for a range of chevron angles is also proposed.     

Evaluation of heat and mass transfer coefficients for falling-films on tubular absorbers

A coupled heat and mass transfer model is developed to extract the transfer coefficients for falling-films from the measurements on a tubular absorber. The mass transfer coefficients obtained from the coupled model and the log-mean-difference approach agree within about 10%. For the heat transfer coefficient, the values given by the two models can differ quite significantly. The cooling water temperature distribution predicted by the coupled model agrees well with measurements. The transfer coefficients obtained from experimental measurements using the various methods reported in the literature show wide variations.     

An experimental study on heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of carbon dioxide during gas cooling process in a horizontal tube

The heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop during gas cooling process of CO₂ (R744) in a horizontal tube were investigated experimentally. The experiments are conducted without oil in the refrigerant loop. The main components of the refrigerant loop are a receiver, a variable-speed pump, a mass flow meter, a pre-heater and a gas cooler (test section). The water loop consists of a variable speed pump, an isothermal tank, and a flow meter. The refrigerant, circulated by the variable-speed pump, condenses in the inner tube while water flows in the annulus. The gas cooler of tube diameter is 6000 mm in length, and it is divided into 12 subsections.The pressure drop of CO₂ in the gas cooler shows a relatively good agreement with those predicted by Blasius's correlation. The local heat transfer coefficient of CO₂ agrees well with the correlation by Bringer–Smith. However, at the region near Pseudo-critical temperature, the experiments indicate higher values than the Bringer–Smith correlation. Based on the experimental data presented in this paper, a new correlation to predict the heat transfer coefficient of supercritical CO₂ during in-tube cooling has been developed. The majority of the experimental values are within 18% of the values predicted by the new correlation.     

Effect of strip location on the air-side pressure drop and heat transfer in strip fin-and-tube heat exchangerEffet de la localisation des gaufrures d’ailettes sur la chute de pression de l''air et sur le transfert de chaleur dans un échangeur à tubes à ailettes

This work discusses about the pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of a plain fin, a strip fin and combinations thereof in the fin-and-tube heat exchanger. Experimental apparatus and test algorithm using scale-up model fin geometry are discussed. The present work uses the electric heaters inside of the tube as the heating source to simulate the hot water loop in the wind tunnel test. The test results of the plain and strip fins are compared with the existing correlation and experimental data. It was found that a hybrid fin, plain fin at front row and strip fin at rear row, was more effective to enhance the heat transfer than that of the whole strip fin at the same fan power.

Résumé

Dans l’article, on traite des caractéristiques de la chute de pression et du transfert de chaleur d’une ailette lisse, d’une ailette gaufrée et de combinaisons de ces deux types d’ailettes dans un échangeur de chaleur à tubes ailetés. Le dispositif expérimental et l’algorithme utilisant une géométrie des ailettes échelonnées sont présentés. On utilise des équipements de chauffage électriques à l’intérieur du tube, comme source de chaleur, pour simuler la boucle d’eau chaude dans le tunnel expérimental. Les résultats expérimentaux concernant les ailettes lisses et les ailettes gaufrées sont comparés avec la corrélation existante et les données expérimentales. On a observé que des ailettes hybrides, c’est-à-dire lisses à la rangée frontale et gaufrées à la rangée arrière, étaient plus efficaces pour intensifier le transfert de chaleur que des ailettes entièrement gaufrées, à la même puissance du ventilateur.     

Measurement and prediction of evaporator shell-side pressure drop

The pressure drop across a heat exchanger is an important parameter, along with the heat transfer capacity. In fact, the operating cost throughout the life of the exchanger depends on the pressure losses. Therefore, it is important to be able to predict pressure drop accurately as it is to predict heat transfer.A new data set of shell-side pressure drop measurements taken during isothermal flow of brines in shell and tube evaporators was collected in the Alfa Laval laboratory. It covers several different configurations of industrial shell and tube evaporators and a wide range of operating conditions, with cross flow Reynolds number ranging from 170 to 33,000.The database is compared against two predictive procedures available in the literature for computing shell-side pressure drop, showing that no method is accurate enough for design purpose.As a further step, a new suggested procedure is presented, which extends the Wills and Johnston [Wills MJN, Johnston D. A new and accurate hand calculation method for shellside pressure drop and flow distribution. 22nd National Heat Transfer Conference, HTD N. 36. New York: ASME; 1984, p. 67–79] method to the low Reynolds number range and improve its capability to predict experimental data.     

NH3 in-tube condensation heat transfer and pressure drop in a smooth tube

This paper presents an overview of the issues and new results for in-tube condensation of ammonia in horizontal round tubes. A new empirical correlation is presented based on measured NH₃ in-tube condensation heat transfer and pressure drop by Komandiwirya et al. [Komandiwirya, H.B., Hrnjak, P.S., Newell, T.A., 2005. An experimental investigation of pressure drop and heat transfer in an in-tube condensation system of ammonia with and without miscible oil in smooth and enhanced tubes. ACRC CR-54, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign] in an 8.1 mm aluminum tube at a saturation temperature of 35 °C, and for a mass flux range of 20–270 kg m⁻² s⁻¹. Most correlations overpredict these measured NH₃ heat transfer coefficients, up to 300%. The reasons are attributed to difference in thermophysical properties of ammonia compared to other refrigerants used in generation and validation of the correlations. Based on the conventional correlations, thermophysical properties of ammonia, and measured heat transfer coefficients, a new correlation was developed which can predict most of the measured values within ±20%. Measured NH₃ pressure drop is shown and discussed. Two separated flow models are shown to predict the pressure drop relatively well at pressure drop higher than 1 kPa m⁻¹, while a homogeneous model yields acceptable values at pressure drop less than 1 kPa m⁻¹. The pressure drop mechanism and prediction accuracy are explained though the use of flow patterns.     

CO2 flow condensation heat transfer and pressure drop in multi-port microchannels at low temperatures

CO₂ flow condensation heat transfer coefficients and pressure drop are investigated for 0.89 mm microchannels at horizontal flow conditions. They were measured at saturation temperatures of −15 and −25 °C, mass fluxes from 200 to 800 kg m⁻² s⁻¹, and wall subcooling temperatures from 2 to 4 °C. Flow patterns for experimental conditions were predicted by two flow pattern maps, and it could be predicted that annular flow patterns could exist in most of flow conditions except low mass flux and low vapor quality conditions. Measured heat transfer coefficients increased with the increase of mass fluxes and vapor qualities, whereas they were almost independent of wall subcooling temperature changes. Several correlations could predict heat transfer coefficients within acceptable error range, and from this comparison, it could be inferred that the flow condensation mechanism in 0.89 mm channels should be similar to that in large tubes. CO₂ two-phase pressure drop, measured in adiabatic conditions, increased with the increase of mass flux and vapor quality, and it decreased with the increase of saturation temperature. By comparing measured pressure drop with calculated values, it was shown that several correlations could predict the measured values relatively well.     

Evaporative heat transfer and pressure drop of R410A in microchannels

Convective boiling heat transfer coefficients and two-phase pressure drops of R410A are investigated in rectangular microchannels whose hydraulic diameters are 1.36 and 1.44 mm. The mass flux was varied from 200 to 400 kg/m²s, heat flux from 10 to 20 kW/m², as the saturation temperatures were maintained at 0, 5 and 10 °C. A direct heating method was used to provide heat flux into the fluid. The boiling heat transfer coefficients of R410A in the microchannels were much different with those in single tubes, and the test conditions only slightly affected the heat transfer coefficients before dryout vapor quality. The present heat transfer correlation for microchannels, which was developed by introducing non-dimensional parameters of Bo, We_l, and Re_l used in the existing heat transfer correlations for large diameter tubes, yielded satisfactory predictions of the present data with a mean deviation of 18%. The pressure drops of R410A in the microchannels showed very similar trends with those in large diameter tubes. The existing two-phase pressure drop correlations for R410A in microchannels satisfactorily predicted the present data.     

Heat transfer of oil-contaminated HFC134a in a horizontal evaporator

The introduction of chlorine-free refrigerants to the market requires experimental investigations of their behaviour in heat pumps and refrigerators. One particular area of interest is the effect of the new oils on the heat transfer in evaporators and condensers. Oil can either increase or decrease the heat transfer coefficient. This paper presents the results from an experimental investigation of the effect of three different ester-based oils on the heat transfer of HFC134a in a horizontal evaporator. The tests were carried out at heat fluxes between 2 and 8 kW m⁻² (corresponding to mass fluxes between approximately 40 and 170 kg s⁻¹ m⁻²). The evaporation temperature was varied from−10 to +10°C. The global oil concentration ranged from 0 to 4.5 mass percentage based on the total liquid flow. The heat transfer coefficient decreased in most of the cases. The results indicate that the decrease seems to depend on the viscosity of the oil. The decrease can fairly well be estimated with the correlation for pure refrigerants by Shah if the viscosity of the mixture is used in the calculations. The data for the oil-contaminated refrigerant also agree well with data for pure refrigerants in a plot of α_tp/α_lo^* versus the inverse Martinelli-Lockhart parameter when α_lo^* is calculated with a modified Dittus-Boelter correlation and the mixture viscosity is used in the calculations. The heat transfer is found to increase when introducing oil in the special cases where the flow rate is low and the viscosity is low (oil A, 2 and 4 kW m⁻² oil B, 6kW m⁻² at +10°C). This is most likely due to surface tension effects. It has been suggested that the increased surface tension leads to a better tube wetting and thus an increased heat transfer.     

Experimental study of turbulent single-phase flow and heat transfer inside a micro-finned tube

Single-phase heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of a commercially available internally micro-finned tube with a nominal outside diameter of 7.94 mm were studied. Experiments were conducted in a double pipe heat exchanger with water as the cooling as well as the heating fluid for six sets of runs. The pressure drop data were collected under isothermal conditions. Data were taken for turbulent flow with 3300 ≤ Re ≤ 22,500 and 2.9 ≤ Pr ≤ 4.7. The heat transfer data were correlated by a Dittus–Boelter type correlation, while the pressure drop data were correlated by a Blasius type correlation. The correlation predicted values for both the Nusselt number and the friction factors were compared with other studies. It was found that the Nusselt numbers obtained from the present correlation fall in the middle region between the Copetti et al. and the Gnielinski smooth tube correlation predicted Nusselt number values. For pressure drop results, the present correlation predicted friction factors values were nearly double that of the Blasius smooth tube correlation predicted friction factors. It was also found that the rough tube Gnielinski and Haaland correlations can be used as a good approximation to predict the finned tube Nusselt number and ffriction factor, respectively, in the tested Reynolds number range.     

Experimental study on the evaporative heat transfer and pressure drop of CO2 flowing upward in vertical smooth and micro-fin tubes with the diameter of 5 mm

Because of the ozone layer depletion and global warming, new alternative refrigerants are being developed. In this study, evaporation heat transfer characteristic and pressure drop of carbon dioxide flowing upward in vertical smooth and micro-fin tubes were investigated by experiment with regard to evaporating temperature, mass flux and heat flux. The vertical smooth and micro-fin tubes with outer diameter (OD) of 5 mm and length of 1.44 m were selected as a test section to measure the evaporative heat transfer coefficient. The tests were conducted at mass fluxes from 212 to 530 kg/(m² s), saturation temperatures from −5 to 20 °C and heat fluxes from 15 to 45 kW/m², where the test section was heated by a direct heating method. The differences of heat transfer characteristics between the smooth and the micro-fin tubes were analyzed with respect to enhancement factor (EF) and penalty factor (PF). Average evaporation heat transfer coefficients for the micro-fin tube were approximately 111–207% higher than those for the smooth tube at the same test conditions, and PF was increased from 106 to 123%.     

Characteristics of evaporative heat transfer and pressure drop of carbon dioxide and correlation development

Carbon dioxide among natural refrigerants has gained considerable attention as an alternative refrigerant due to its excellent thermophysical properties. In this study, transcritical refrigeration cycle using carbon dioxide is of great interest, and the evaporation process is investigated by experiment and analysis. This paper presents the measured heat transfer coefficients and pressure drop during evaporation process of carbon dioxide in a horizontal smooth tube. The test section was made of a seamless stainless steel tube with the inner diameter of 7.53 mm, and length of 5 m. Heat is provided by a direct heating method to the test section. Experiments were conducted at saturation temperatures of −4 to 20 °C, heat fluxes of 12 to 20 kWm⁻² and mass fluxes of 200 to 530 kgm⁻² s⁻¹. A comparison of different heat transfer correlations applicable to evaporation of carbon dioxide has been made. Based on the experiments for the evaporation heat transfer, useful correlation is developed.     

Correction of logarithmic mean temperature difference in a compact brazed plate evaporator assuming heat flux governed flow boiling heat transfer coefficient

The heat transfer in heat exchangers is commonly calculated using the concept of Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD). As is well known this approach is only valid for counter-current and co-current heat exchanger configurations. For other configurations, corrections for the deviation from pure counter-current are introduced. From any standard text book in heat transfer it may be found that the LMTD approach may also be used if condensation and evaporation occurs in the heat exchanger. The purpose of the present paper is to investigate if the LMTD approach can be used in a compact brazed plate evaporator. It will be shown through integration of the governing equations that the LMTD approach indeed may be used for practical cases, even though deviations occur at small logarithmic mean temperature differences. The article presents suggestions on the correction factor (F) needed under some simplified assumptions in a compact brazed plate heat exchanger operating as an evaporator for heat pump and refrigeration applications.     

Prediction of ice slurry performance in a corrugated tube heat exchanger

Ice slurry performance in a concentric corrugated tube heat exchanger is experimentally studied in this work in order to compare experimental results to theoretical prediction obtained using the correlations proposed in previous papers. Once the validity of those correlations is verified, the behaviour of the studied heat exchanger is analyzed for different ice slurry flow conditions and compared to the results obtained when a heterogeneous storage is used and only carrier fluid flows through the heat exchanger. According to the performance evaluation criterion used – variation in heat transfer rate for equal pressure drop and surface area – the most remarkable conclusion obtained is that slurry improves the behaviour of the heat exchanger studied for all the cases analyzed, although the increase in heat transfer rate is always lower than 15%, being in most cases lower than 5%.     

Liquid side heat transfer and pressure drop in finned-tube cooling-coils operated with secondary refrigerants

In this study full-scale experiments with two different conventional cooling-coils aimed for display cabinets were performed. Heat transfer and pressure drop on the liquid side for three different single phase secondary refrigerants were studied and compared to predictions by existing correlations. Predominantly, the laminar flow regime was studied. The results show that when predicting the heat transfer performance on the liquid side of a cooling-coil the Gnielinski correlation for thermally developing flow and uniform wall temperature boundary conditions (T) leads to good agreement for 0.0014 < x^* < 0.017 if 50 < Re < 1700, assuming a new entrance length is formed after each U-bend. In addition, these entrance lengths must also be accounted for, when predicting the pressure drop on the liquid side of the cooling-coil. The uncertainty of measurement can be a problem in this type of investigations and this has been taken into consideration when analysing the results.     

Evaporation heat transfer for R-22 and R-407C refrigerant–oil mixture in a microfin tube with a U-bendTransfert de chaleur lors de l'évaporation de R-22 et de R-407C mélangés avec de l'huile dans un tube à micro-ailettes avec un coude en U

Evaporation heat transfer experiments for two refrigerants, R-407C and R-22, mixed with polyol ester and mineral oils were performed in straight and U-bend sections of a microfin tube. Experimental parameters include an oil concentration varied from 0 to 5%, an inlet quality varied from 0.1 to 0.5, two mass fluxes of 219 and 400 kg m⁻²s⁻¹ and two heat fluxes of 10 and 20 kW m⁻². Pressure drop in the test section increased by approximately 20% as the oil concentration increased from 0 to 5%. Enhancement factors decreased as oil concentration increased under inlet quality of 0.5, mass flux of 219 kg m⁻² s⁻¹, and heat flux of 10 kW m⁻², whereas they increased under inlet quality of 0.1, mass flux of 400 kg m⁻² s⁻¹, and heat flux of 20 kW m⁻². The local heat transfer coefficient at the outside curvature of an U-bend was larger than that at the inside curvature of a U-bend, and the maximum value occurred at the 90° position of the U-bend. The heat transfer coefficient was larger in a region of 30 tube diameter length at the second straight section than that at the first straight section.     

Condensation heat transfer and pressure drop in flattened microfin tubes having different aspect ratios

In this study, condensation heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops of R-410A are obtained in flattened microfin tubes made from 7.0 mm O.D. round microfin tubes. The test range covers saturation temperature 45 °C, mass flux 100–400 kg m⁻² s⁻¹ and quality 0.2–0.8. Results show that the effect of aspect ratio on condensation heat transfer coefficient is dependent on the flow pattern. For annular flow, the heat transfer coefficient increases as aspect ratio increases. For stratified flow, however, the heat transfer coefficient decreases as aspect ratio increases. The pressure drop always increases as aspect ratio increases. Possible reasoning is provided based on the estimated flow pattern in flat microfin tubes. Comparison with existing round microfin tube correlations is made.     

Enhancement of condensation heat transfer by means of passive and active condensate drainage techniques

A short state-of-the-art review on the passive and active enhancement of condensation heat transfer techniques developed recently is presented in the paper. The particular attention is paid to the methods involving the augmentation of the condensate drainage. As an example of the passive technique the method of condensate drainage enhancement by using the drainage strip is presented. For an active method of heat transfer enhancement a novel EHD technique is described. For both methods the own experimental results as well as theoretical models are provided.