Reasons for drop in shell-and-tube condenser performance when replacing R22 with zeotropic mixtures. Part 2: investigation of mass transfer resistance effects

Detailed calculations of condensation outside a column of horizontal smooth tubes have been carried out in order to investigate the influence of mass transfer resistance for a zeotropic refrigerant mixture. Diffusive transport is calculated locally in both phases. Calculation results show that mass transfer resistance in the gas phase reduces heat transfer by 10–20% for a binary mixture with a glide similar to that of R407C.The decrease in heat transfer due to poor mixing in the condensate is from 15 to 65% for the conditions investigated; the lower the duty, the greater the decrease. Results show that if assuming mixing in the condensate by diffusion only, the degrees of mixing and the duty dependency are similar to results in earlier work where calculations were matched to experimental data. Diffusion is likely to be the dominant mixing mechanism in the condensate, and the mixing is poor under certain conditions, which might explain the drop in condenser performance for some heat pump applications.     

Condensation heat transfer coefficients of R22, R407C, and R410A on a horizontal plain, low fin, and turbo-C tubes

In this study, condensation heat transfer coefficients (HTCs) were measured on a horizontal plain tube, low fin tube, and Turbo-C tube at the saturated vapor temperature of 39 °C for R22, R407C, and R410A with the wall subcooling of 3–8 °C. R407C, a non-azeotropic refrigerant mixture, exhibited a quite different condensation phenomenon from those of R22 and R410A and its condensation HTCs were up to 50% lower than those of R22. For R407C, as the wall subcooling increased, condensation HTCs decreased on a plain tube while they increased on both low fin and turbo-C tubes. This was due to the lessening effect of the vapor diffusion film with a rapid increase in condensation rate on enhanced tubes. On the other hand, condensation HTCs of R410A, almost an azeotrope, were similar to those of R22. For all refrigerants tested, condensation HTCs of turbo-C tube were the highest among the tubes tested showing a 3–8 times increase as compared to those of a plain tube.     

Experimental and numerical research on condenser performance for R-22 and R-407C refrigerants

An experimental study of a fin and tube condenser was performed using two different configurations of condenser paths (U and Z type) and two kinds of refrigerants (R-22 and R-407C) as working fluids. An integral test facility was constructed to evaluate the heat transfer capacity of the air and refrigerant sides of the condenser. An uncertainty study was also performed. A numerical code was developed, using a section-by-section analysis scheme in which mal-distribution on the air side and temperature gliding on the refrigerant side could be considered along the tube-length direction. Different condenser capacities were obtained from both the experimental and numerical results, depending on the paths and refrigerants used. R-22 performed better than R-407C for the Z-type path configuration, but no significant difference was found between results using either refrigerant in the U-type path configuration. On average, the numerical results obtained with R-22 were 10.1% greater than experiment data; using R-407C, results were 10.7% less than experiment data. The numerical code can be used as a design tool to develop better condenser paths.     

Flow condensation heat transfer coefficients of R22, R134a, R407C, and R410A inside plain and microfin tubes

Flow condensation heat transfer coefficients (HTCs) of R22, R134a, R407C, and R410A inside horizontal plain and microfin tubes of 9.52 mm outside diameter and 1 m length were measured at the condensation temperature of 40 °C with mass fluxes of 100, 200, and 300 kg m⁻² s⁻¹ and a heat flux of 7.7–7.9 kW m⁻². For a plain tube, HTCs of R134a and R410A were similar to those of R22 while HTCs of R407C are 11–15% lower than those of R22. For a microfin tube, HTCs of R134a were similar to those of R22 while HTCs of R407C and R410A were 23–53% and 10–21% lower than those of R22. For a plain tube, our correlation agreed well with the present data for all refrigerants exhibiting a mean deviation of 11.6%. Finally, HTCs of a microfin tube were 2–3 times higher than those of a plain tube and the heat transfer enhancement factor decreased as the mass flux increased for all refrigerants tested.     

Experimental investigation on the drop-in performance of R407C as a substitute for R22 in a screw chiller with shell-and-tube heat exchangers

A drop-in test of a mixed refrigerant R407C is performed in a commercial screw chiller with shell-and-tube heat exchangers originally designed for R22. The test results show a severe performance reduction when substituting the refrigerant from R22 to R407C. The reason for the performance reduction is analyzed comprehensively, and the influence of thermodynamic properties, compressor efficiency, and heat transfer is evaluated quantitatively. The major factor causing the performance reduction is assessed as the degradation of the heat transfer in using the mixed refrigerant, R407C. The heat transfer degradation in the evaporator is found to be larger and influences more on the chiller performance reduction. The performance reduction caused by the evaporator is approximately two times compared with that of the condenser.     

Evaporating heat transfer of R22 and R410A in horizontal smooth and microfin tubes

An experimental investigation of condensation heat transfer in 9.52 mm O.D. horizontal copper tubes was conducted using R22 and R410A. The test rig had a straight, horizontal test section with an active length of 0.92 m and was cooled by the heat transfer fluid (cold water) circulated in a surrounding annulus. Constant heat flux of 11.0 kW/m² was maintained throughout the experiment and refrigerant quality varied from 0.9 to 0.1. The condensation test results at 45 °C were reported for 40–80 kg/h mass flow rate. The local and average condensation coefficients for seven microfin tubes were presented compared to those for a smooth tube. The average condensation coefficients of R22 and R410A for the microfin tubes were 1.7–3.19 and 1.7–2.94 times larger than those in smooth tube, respectively.     

Thermoeconomic optimisation of the condenser in a vapour compression heat pump

In the paper, the design optimisation of a heat exchanger is discussed, using a thermoeconomic approach. The investigation is referred to the tube-in-tube condenser of a conventional vapour-compression heat pump, with a two-phase refrigerant flowing in the inner tube and a single-phase fluid flowing in the annulus. A cost function to be minimised is introduced, defined as the sum of two contributions: (i) the amortisation cost of the condenser, related to the heat exchange area; (ii) the operating cost of the electric-driven heat pump in which the heat exchanger will work, depending on the overall exergy destruction rate in the system. In the paper, this latter contribution is related to the local irreversibility rate in the condenser, using the so-called structural approach. The optimal trade-off between amortisation and operating cost is therefore investigated, by minimising the above-mentioned cost function. A numerical example is discussed, in which, for a commercial heat exchanger, the design improvements needed to obtain a cost-optimal configuration are investigated. The analysis is carried out for three different refrigerants: R22, R134a and R410A.     

Condensation heat transfer coefficients for R22 and R407C in gravity driven flow regime within a smooth horizontal tube

The quasi local heat transfer coefficients of R22 and R407C in the coaxial counterflow condenser (20 mm ID) of a refrigerating vapour compression plant have been experimentally measured. The experimental conditions under which the heat transfer coefficients were determined reflect a typical working situation for small scale refrigeration systems. The plant runs with low mass fluxes of refrigerant within the range of 45.5–120 kg/m²/s. During the experimental tests the pressure at the inlet of the test condenser varies within a fixed range between 15.2 and 14.3 bar. The results illustrate that the R22 heat transfer coefficient is always greater than that of R407C. Furthermore, comparisons between the experimental data and the values predicted by means of the most credited literature relationships for gravity-driven condensation are reported.     

Condensation of R407C in a horizontal microfin tube

This paper describes experimental results that show the effects of mass velocity and condensation temperature difference on the local heat transfer characteristics during condensation of R407C in a horizontal microfin tube. The experiments were performed at the saturation temperature of 40 °C, the refrigerant mass velocity of 50, 100, 200 and 300 kg m⁻² s⁻¹, and the condensation temperature difference of 1.5, 2.5 and 4.5 K. A superficial heat transfer coefficient for the vapor phase was obtained by subtracting the heat transfer resistance of condensate film estimated by using a previously developed theoretical model of film condensation of pure vapor from the overall heat transfer resistance. On the basis of the analogy between heat and mass transfer, an empirical equation for the superficial vapor phase heat transfer coefficient was developed. The heat transfer coefficient predicted by the combination of the previously developed theoretical model of film condensation of pure vapor and the empirical equation of the superficial vapor phase heat transfer coefficient agreed with the measured values with the r.m.s. error of 9.2%.     

Experimental investigation of the performance of R22, R407C and R410A in several capillary tubes for air-conditioners

The objective of this study is to present test results and to develop a dimensionless correlation on the basis of the experimental data of adiabatic capillary tubes for R22 and its alternatives, R407C (R32/125/134a, 23/25/52 wt.%) and R410A (R32/125, 50/50 wt.%). Several capillary tubes with different length and inner diameter were selected as test sections. Mass flow rate through the capillary tube was measured for several condensing temperatures and various degrees of subcooling at the inlet of each capillary tube. Experimental conditions for the condensing temperatures were selected as 40, 45 and 50°C, and the degrees of subcooling were adjusted to 1.5, 5 and 10°C. Mass flow rates of R407C and R410A were compared with those of R22 for the same test conditions. The results for straight capillary tubes were also compared with those of coiled capillary tubes. A new correlation based on Buckingham π theorem to predict the mass flow rate through the capillary tubes was presented based on extensive experimental data for R22, R407C and R410A. Dimensionless parameters were chosen considering the effects of tube geometry, capillary tube inlet conditions, and refrigerant properties. Dimensionless correlation predicted experimental data within relative deviations ranging from −12% to +12% for every test condition for R22, R407C and R410A. The predictions by the developed correlation were in good agreement with the results in the open literature.     

An experimental study on condensation of refrigerant R134a in a multi-port extruded tube

In the present study, the local characteristics of pressure drop and heat transfer are investigated experimentally for the condensation of pure refrigerant R134a in two kinds of 865 mm long multi-port extruded tubes having eight channels in 1.11 mm hydraulic diameter and 19 channels in 0.80 mm hydraulic diameter. The pressure drop is measured at an interval of 191 mm through small pressure measuring ports. The local heat transfer rate is measured in every subsection of 75 mm in effective cooling length using heat flux sensors. It is found that the experimental data of frictional pressure drop agree with the correlation of Mishima and Hibiki [Trans. JMSE (B) 61 (1995) 99], while the correlations of Chisholm and Laird [Trans. ASME 80 (1958) 227], Soliman et al. [Trans. ASME, Ser. C 90 (1998) 267], and Haraguchi et al. [Trans. JSME (B) 60 (1994) 239], overpredict. As a trial, the data of local heat transfer coefficient are also compared with correlations of Moser et al. [J. Heat Transfer 120 (1998) 410] and Haraguchi et al. [Trans. JSME (B) 60 (1994) 245]. The data of high mass velocity agree with the correlation of Moser et al., while those of low mass velocity show different trends. The correlation of Haraguchi et al. shows the trend similar to the data when the shear stress in their correlation is estimated using the correlation of Mishima and Hibiki.     

An evaluation of options for replacing HCFC-22 in medium temperature refrigeration systems

Due to the ongoing global phase-out of R-22, which is still the most widely used refrigerant around the world, there is a need to replace this refrigerant in many different applications. This paper focuses on a thorough evaluation of the R-22 replacement options for medium-temperature refrigeration applications. It includes a thermodynamic analysis, comparison of heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics, system performance comparisons using a validated detailed system model, safety issues, and determination of the environmental impact of refrigerant selection. Three potential alternatives to the R-22 were studied: two HFCs (404A and R-410A) and one HC (R-290). An HFC refrigerant, R-410A, is shown to be an efficient and environmentally acceptable option to replace R-22 in medium temperature applications.     

Flow-boiling of R22, R134a, R507, R404A and R410A inside a smooth horizontal tube

Flow boiling heat transfer coefficients of R22, R134a, R507, R404A and R410A inside a smooth horizontal tube (6 mm I.D., 6 m length) were measured at a refrigerant mass flux of about 360 kg/m² s varying the evaporating pressure within the range 3–12 bar, with heat fluxes within the range 11–21 kW/m². The experimental data are discussed in terms of the heat transfer coefficients as a function of the vapour quality. The experimental results clearly show that the heat transfer coefficients of R134a are always higher than those pertaining to R22 (from a minimum of +6 to a maximum of +45%).     

Experimental evaluation of R22 and R407C evaporative heat transfer coefficients in a vapour compression plant

The mean heat transfer coefficients of R22 and R407C in the coaxial counterflow evaporator (20 mm ID) of a refrigerating vapour compression plant have been experimentally measured. The experimental conditions under which heat transfer coefficients were determined reflect a typical working situation for small-scale refrigeration systems. The heat flux ranged from 1.9 to 9.1 kW/m² and the mass flux was varied from 30 to 140 kg/m² s. The results illustrate that the R22 heat transfer coefficient is always greater than that of R407C. Furthermore, a comparison carried out between the experimental data and those predicted by means of the most credited literature relationships showed a strongly overprediction for R407C coefficients.     

Condensation of refrigerants in horizontal microfin tubes: comparison of prediction methods for heat transfer

A comparison was made between the predictions of previously proposed empirical correlations and theoretical model and available experimental data for the heat transfer coefficient during condensation of refrigerants in horizontal microfin tubes. The refrigerants tested were R11, R123, R134a, R22 and R410A. Experimental data for six tubes with the tube inside diameter at fin root of 6.49–8.88 mm, the fin height of 0.16–0.24 mm, fin pitch of 0.34–0.53 mm and helix angle of groove of 12–20° were adopted. The r.m.s. error of the predictions for all tubes and all refrigerants decreased in the order of the correlations proposed by Luu and Bergles [ASHRAE Trans. 86 (1980) 293], Cavallini et al. [Cavallini A, Doretti L, Klammsteiner N, Longo L G, Rossetto L. Condensation of new refrigerants inside smooth and enhanced tubes. In: Proc. 19th Int. Cong. Refrigeration, vol. IV, Hague, The Netherlands, 1995. p. 105–14], Shikazono et al. [Trans. Jap. Sco. Mech. Engrs. 64 (1995) 196], Kedzierski and Goncalves [J. Enhanced Heat Transfer 6 (1999) 16], Yu and Koyama [Yu J, Koyama S. Condensation heat transfer of pure refrigerants in microfin tubes. In: Proc. Int. Refrigeration Conference at Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, USA, 1998. p. 325–30], and the theoretical model proposed by Wang et al. [Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 45 (2002) 1513].     

Evaporation of R407C and R410A in a horizontal herringbone microfin tube: heat transfer and pressure drop

Based on experimental data for R134a, the present work deals with the development of a prediction method for heat transfer in herringbone microfin tubes. As is shown in earlier works, heat transfer coefficients for the investigated herringbone microfin tube tend to peak at lower vapour qualities than in helical microfin tubes. Correlations developed for other tube types fail to describe this behaviour. A hypothesis that the position of the peak is related to the point where the average film thickness becomes smaller than the fin height is tested and found to be consistent with observed behaviour. The proposed method accounts for this hypothesis and incorporates the well-known Steiner and Taborek correlation for the calculation of flow boiling heat transfer coefficients. The correlation is modified by introducing a surface enhancement factor and adjusting the two-phase multiplier. Experimental data for R134a are predicted with an average residual of 1.5% and a standard deviation of 21%. Tested against experimental data for mixtures R410A and R407C, the proposed method overpredicts experimental data by around 60%. An alternative adjustment of the two-phase multiplier, in order to better predict mixture data, is discussed.     

Condensation heat transfer of R-22 and R-410A in flat aluminum multi-channel tubes with or without micro-fins

In this study, condensation heat transfer tests were conducted in flat aluminum multi-channel tubes using R-410A, and the results are compared with those of R-22. The flat tubes have two internal geometries; one with smooth inner surface and the other with micro-fins. Data are presented for the following range of variables; vapor quality (0.1–0.9), mass flux (200–600 kg/m²s) and heat flux (5–15 kW/m²). Results show that the effect of surface tension drainage on the fin surface is more pronounced for R-22 than R-410A. The smaller Weber number of R-22 may be responsible. For the smooth tube, the heat transfer coefficient of R-410A is slightly larger than that of R-22. For the micro-fin tube, however, the trend is reversed. Possible reasoning is provided considering physical properties of the refrigerants. For the smooth tube, Webb's correlation predicts the data reasonably well. For the micro-fin tube, the Yang and Webb model was modified to correlate the present data. The modified model adequately predicts the data.     

Two-phase heat transfer coefficients of three HFC refrigerants inside a horizontal smooth tube, part I: evaporationCoefficient d'échange diphasiques de trois fluides frigorifiques HFC à l'intérieur d'un tube lisse horizontal, première partie: évaporation

This paper presents experimental heat transfer results obtained during the evaporation of Isceon 59, R407C and R404A in a horizontal tube. The results have been compared with existing correlations which characterise the evaporative heat transfer coefficient to assess the validity of these models for refrigerant mixtures. The results compared well with the (Gungor K.E., Winterton, R.H.S. Simplified general correlation for saturated flow boiling and comparisons of correlations with data. The Canadian Journal of Chemical Engineering, Chemical Engineering Research & Design 1987;65(2):148–156 and Shah M.M. Chart correlation for saturated boiling heat transfer: equations and further study. ASHRAE Transactions 1982;88(1):185–196) correlations over a 0.2 to 0.8 vapour quality range. These correlations, however, did not accurately predict the results obtained during the dry-out at high vapour quality. A model, developed by (Kattan N., Thome J.R., Favrat D., 1998. Flow boiling in horizontal tubes: part 1 — development of a diabatic two-phase flow pattern map. Journal of heat transfer, transactions of ASME, Vol. 120, pp. 140-147; Kattan N., Thome J.R., Favrat D., 1998. Flow boiling in horizontal tubes: part 2 — new heat transfer data for five refrigerants. Journal of Heat Transfer, Transactions of ASME, Vol. 120, pp. 148–155; Kattan N., Thome J.R., Favrat D., 1998. Flow boiling in horizontal tubes: part 3–development of a new heat transfer model based on flow pattern. Journal of Heat Transfer, Transactions of ASME, Vol. 120, pp. 156–165), was found to express the local variations in heat transfer during the whole evaporation process. This model was modified to fit the three new refrigerants. The modified Kattan model offers a good prediction of the heat transfer results, with a standard deviation of 6.1%.     

Condensation of refrigerants in horizontal microfin tubes: comparison of correlations for frictional pressure drop

This paper presents a comprehensive comparison of eight previously proposed correlations with available experimental data for the frictional pressure drop during condensation of refrigerants in helically grooved, horizontal microfin tubes. Calculated values are compared with experimental data for seven refrigerants (R11, R123, R134a, R22, R32, R125 and R410A) and eight tubes and with mass velocity from 78 to 459 kg/m² s. The tubes had inside diameter at the fin root between 6.41 and 8.91 mm; the fin height varied between 0.15 and 0.24 mm; the fin pitch varied between 0.34 and 0.53 mm and helix angle between 13 and 20°. The results show that the overall r.m.s. deviations of relative residuals of frictional pressure gradient for all tubes and all refrigerants taking together decreased in the order of the correlations of Nozu et al. [Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci. 18 (1998) 82], Newell and Shah [Refrigerant heat transfer, pressure drop, and void fraction effects in microfin tubes. In: Proc. 2nd Int. Symp. on Two-Phase Flow and Experimentation, vol. 3. Italy: Edizioni ETS; 1999. p. 1623–39], Kedzierski and Goncalves [J. Enhanced Heat Transfer 6 (1999) 161], Cavallini et al. [Heat Technol. 15 (1997) 3], Goto et al. (b) [Int. J. Refrigeration 24 (2001) 628], Choi et al. [Generalized pressure drop correlation for evaporation and condensation in smooth and microfin tubes. In: Proc. of IIF-IIR Commision B1, Paderborn, Germany, B4, 2001. p. 9–16], Haraguchi et al. [Condensation heat transfer of refrigerants HCFC134a, HCFC123 and HCFC22 in a horizontal smooth tube and a horizontal microfin tube. In: Proc. 30th National Symp. of Japan, Yokohama, 1993. p. 343–5], and Goto et al. (a) [Int. J. Refrigeration 24 (2001) 628], i.e., this final correlation (Goto et al. (a)) gives the best overall representation of the data.     

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.