Non-adiabatic capillary tube flow with isobutane

This work reports the results of an experimental study on concentric capillary tube–suction line heat exchangers commonly used as expansion devices in household refrigerators and freezers. Heat exchanger performance (mass flow rate and suction line outlet temperature) with the hydrocarbon HC-600a was experimentally evaluated for a range of heat exchanger geometries and operating conditions. The tests were planned and performed following a statistically based methodology. Based on the resulting database empirical correlations were developed to predict the refrigerant mass flow rate and the suction line outlet temperature.     

A parametric study of refrigerant flow in non-adiabatic capillary tubes

This paper presents a parametric analysis of refrigerant flow through capillary tube–suction line heat exchangers, used in domestic refrigeration systems. The analysis is based on a homogeneous model developed by the authors. The model is based on the numerical solution of fundamental equations of conservation of mass, momentum and energy of refrigerant flow. The refrigerant flow characteristics are investigated by varying thermodynamic (e.g. condensing temperature, evaporating temperature, inlet sub-cooling, suction line superheat) and geometric parameters (e.g. inlet adiabatic length, heat exchanger length and internal diameter of the capillary tube) of the capillary flow. The source of divergence in the numerical solution process is found to be the discontinuity in non-adiabatic capillary tube flow characteristics caused by re-condensation of the refrigerant within the capillary heat exchanger.     

Non-adiabatic capillary tube flow: a homogeneous model and process description

This paper presents a homogeneous model of refrigerant flow through capillary tube–suction line heat exchangers, which are widely used in small vapour compression refrigeration systems. The homogeneous model is based on fundamental conservation equations of mass, momentum and energy. These equations are solved simultaneously through iterative process. Churchill’s correlation [3] is used to calculate single-phase friction factors and Lin et al. [6] correlation for two-phase friction factors. The single-phase heat transfer coefficient is calculated by Gnielinski’s equation [5] while two-phase flow heat transfer coefficient is assumed to be infinite. The model is validated with previous experimental and analytical results. The present model can be used in either design calculation (calculate the capillary tube length for given refrigerant mass flow rate) or simulation calculation (calculate the refrigerant mass flow rate for given capillary tube length). The simulation model is used to understand the refrigerant flow behaviour inside the non-adiabatic capillary tubes.     

Algebraic solution of capillary tube flows: Part I: Adiabatic capillary tubes

Capillary tube flows have been solved through both numerical and analytical approaches. The former requires a reasonable understanding of the governing equations of heat and fluid flow, thermodynamic relations, numerical methods, and computer programming, and therefore are not the suitable approach for most refrigeration and air-conditioning practitioners. Some simpler procedures based on different strategies for analytically solving the capillary tube flow have been proposed in the literature, although iterative loops for calculating the mass flow rate are still required. The aim of this work is to advance a semi-empirical algebraic model to solve adiabatic capillary tube flows using a relatively simple set of thermodynamic relations and being explicit for the mass flow rate calculation. Comparisons with a comprehensive experimental data set, taken with the refrigerants HFC-134a and HC-600a, has shown that the model predicts more than 90% and nearly 100% of all data within ±10% and ±15% error bands, respectively.     

Numerical analysis of refrigerant flow along non-adiabatic capillary tubes using a two-fluid model

This work presents a numerical model to simulate steady state refrigerant flow along capillary tube-suction line heat exchangers, commonly used in small refrigeration systems. The flow along the straight and horizontal capillary tube is divided into two regions: a single-phase and a two-phase flow region. The flow is taken as one-dimensional and the metastable flow phenomenon is neglected. The two-fluid model is employed for the two-phase flow region, considering the hydrodynamic and the thermodynamic non-equilibrium between the liquid and vapor phases. Comparisons are made with experimental measurements of the mass flow rate and temperature distribution along capillary tube-suction line heat exchangers working with refrigerant R134a in different operating conditions. The results indicate that the present model provides a good estimation of the refrigerant mass flow rate. Moreover, comparisons with a homogeneous model are also made. Some computational results referring to the quality, void fraction and velocities of each phase are also presented and discussed.     

The evaluation of a small capacity shell and tube ammonia evaporator

The use of ammonia as refrigerant is widespread in vapour compression and ammonia/water absorption systems. Ammonia is not actually used in low capacity applications mainly because of the lack of economical available equipment. For this reason, the objective of this study is the numerical and experimental evaluation of a small capacity ammonia shell and tube evaporator with enhanced heat transfer surfaces.An experimental system to evaluate small capacity heat exchangers was developed. A shell and tube evaporator with external low fin tubes was successfully tested. The experimental uncertainty for the evaporator capacity has been estimated within ±5.5%. The experimental results were used to validate a heat exchanger numerical tool that predicts reasonably well the cooling capacity and load outlet temperatures. The methodology presented in this work can be applied to evaluate other refrigerants in similar shell and tube evaporators and to optimize the design of an evaporator for a specific application.     

Study on Flow Behavior and Heat Exchange Characteristics of a Capillary Tube-Suction Line Heat Exchanger

The present research is to develop a homogenous mathematical model to simulate capillary tube-suction line heat exchanger (CT-SL HX) based on the fundamentals of conservations of mass, momentum and energy with comprehensive experimental result validations. The computer model is fully validated by 72 experimental data with error bands of ±15%, ±2°C and ±35% on the mass flow rate prediction, the suction pipe outlet temperature, and the heat exchange estimation respectively. The results suggest that the internal diameter of the capillary tube, and the heat-transfer length of the CT-SL HX have demonstrated an apparent impact on the capillary tube outlet conditions and heat transfer across the segment.     

Reverse heat transfer and re-condensation phenomena in non-adiabatic capillary tubes

A numerical simulation model for lateral capillary tube-suction line heat exchangers is presented here to analyze its performance characteristics in small vapour compression refrigeration systems (e.g. domestic refrigerators). Appropriate heat transfer correlations have been used to illustrate the reverse heat transfer and re-condensation phenomena inside the tubes. Some convergence problems were encountered during the execution of the model when lower vapour temperature inside the suction line caused the two-phase refrigerant inside the capillary tube to re-condense within the heat exchange region. Therefore, a relationship between the re-condensation phenomenon and the divergence problem has been analyzed in the paper. The modelling was performed with two refrigerants, namely HFC-134a and HC-600a. Further, a simple theoretical equation has been developed to express the re-condensation phenomenon in non-adiabatic capillary tubes.     

A comparison of the predicted and experimental heat transfer performance of a finned tube evaporator

Experimental data have been generated for a single-circuit, multi-pass finned tube heat exchanger representative of an element of a typical packaged air conditioning unit evaporator. The data have been used to validate a cross flow heat exchanger computer program (ACOL5), developed originally for large scale steam plant, for air conditioning applications. The tests were conducted for a wide range of spatially uniform air flow conditions on to the coil, together with a variety of R22 refrigerant entry dryness fractions. The correspondence between the predicted and experimental heat transfer performance was good, thus suggesting that the program could be used with a degree of confidence in the design of air conditioning and refrigerant equipment. A particular application is that of prediction of the effects of maldistribution of air flow through heat exchangers, a common cause of loss of efficiency in air conditioning and refrigeration units; this topic is addressed in a companion paper.     

Performance of finned tube heat exchangers operating under frosting conditions

In this paper, the performance of flat plate finned tube heat exchangers operating under frosting conditions was investigated experimentally. Heat exchangers of single and multiple tube row(s) were tested to show the effects of various parameters on heat transfer performance. The parameters include temperature and relative humidity of air, flow rate of air, refrigerant temperature, fin pitch, and row number. The time variations of heat transfer rate, overall heat transfer coefficient, and pressure drop of heat exchangers presented.     

Numerical model for matching of coiled adiabatic capillary tubes in a split air conditioner using HCFC22 and HC290

The present work presents a simple model for matching coiled capillary tubes and the refrigerant charge in a split air conditioner when the other components are fixed. The system model is composed of sub-models for the key components, i.e., a lumped model for the compressor, zone models for the condenser and the evaporator, and a four flow region distributed model for the coiled adiabatic capillary tube in series with the liquid tube. The C-M-N method is employed to calculate the friction factors in the coiled capillary tube. HCFC22 and HC290 are used for the simulations. The comparison of the model prediction with experimental data shows the errors are less than ±5% except for the mass flow rate with a maximum deviation of 8.63%. The results confirm that both the cooling capacity and input power are slightly reduced when HCFC22 is replaced by HC290 with the coiled capillary tube and refrigerant charge matched to the HC290 refrigerant. The results also show that when coil diameter is reduced from 0.3 m to 0.04 m, the capillary tube length is reduced by about 10% for both HCFC22 and HC290. This model can be used to design components for small air conditioning systems using HCFC22 and HC290.     

Numerical investigation of refrigerant flow through non-adiabatic capillary tubes

A mathematical model is developed to study flow characteristics in non-adiabatic capillary tubes. The theoretical model is based on conservation of mass, energy and momentum of fluids in the capillary tube and suction line. The mathematical model is categorized into three different cases, depending on the position of the heat exchange process. The first case is considered when the heat exchange process starts in the single-phase flow region, the second case is determined when the heat exchange process starts at the end of the single-phase flow region, and the last case is considered when the heat exchange process takes place in the two-phase flow region. A set of differential equations is solved by the explicit method of finite-difference scheme. The model is validated by comparing with the experimental data obtained from previous works. The results obtained from the present model show reasonable agreement with the experimental data. The present non-adiabatic capillary tube model can be used to integrate with system models working with alternative refrigerants for design and optimization.     

Numerical simulation of gas-contaminated refrigerant two-phase flow through adiabatic capillary tubes

An unfavorable effect of gas impurities on the throttling process inside a small-diameter tube, i.e. a capillary tube, has been studied in detail. A special testing capillary tube equipped with precise temperature and pressure sensors has been used for an experimental investigation of the capillary flow of a saturated fluorocarbon refrigerant, R218, contaminated by dissolved nitrogen. The gas impurities significantly affected the throttling process, since the two-phase flow started notably earlier than in the case of pure refrigerant flow. Moreover, the gas contamination resulted in a decreased mass flow rate of refrigerant delivered through the capillary tube. A comprehensive numerical model has been developed to simulate the capillary flow of gas-contaminated refrigerant. The model takes into account two coincident thermodynamic events: the throttling process of the refrigerant (solvent) and the gradual release of the dissolved gas impurities (solute) from the refrigerant liquid phase. The gas release is in principle described by using the temperature correlation of the Henry’s law constant. The model considers adiabatic, thermodynamically equilibrated capillary flow with homogeneous two-phase flow. The numerical simulation is in good agreement with our experimental data measured for R218 contaminated by nitrogen.     

A study on the thermal contact conductance in fin–tube heat exchangers with 7 mm tube

The thermal contact resistance has been frequently neglected in the process of design of heat exchangers because of the difficulty of measurement and the lack of accurate data. However, the thermal contact resistance is one of principal parameters in heat transfer mechanism of fin–tube heat exchangers. The objective of the present study is to investigate new factors such as fin types and manufacturing types of the tube affecting the thermal contact conductance and to find a correlation between the thermal contact conductance and the effective factors in fin–tube heat exchangers with 7 mm tube. The thermal contact conductances in the 22 heat exchangers with 7 mm tube have been investigated through the experimental–numerical method. A numerical scheme has been employed to calculate the thermal contact conductance and the portion of thermal resistances using the experimental data. As a result, the thermal contact conductance has been evaluated quantitatively, and a new correlation including the influence of new factors such as fin types and manufacturing types of the tube has been developed in the fin–tube heat exchanger with 7 mm tube. Also, the portion of each thermal resistance has been evaluated in each case.     

Flow boiling heat transfer coefficient of R-134a/R-290/R-600a mixture in smooth horizontal tubes using varied heat flux method

An experimental study on in-tube flow boiling heat transfer of R-134a/R-290/R-600a refrigerant mixture has been carried out under varied heat flux test conditions. The heat transfer coefficients are experimentally measured at temperatures between ?8 and 5 °C for mass flow rates of 3–5 g s^?1. Acetone is used as a hot fluid which flows in the outer tube of diameter 28.57 mm while the refrigerant mixture flows in the inner tube of diameters 9.52 and 12.7 mm. By regulating the acetone flow conditions, the heat flux is maintained between 2 and 8 kW/m² and the pressure of the refrigerant is maintained between 3.2 and 5 bar. The comparison of experimental results with the familiar correlations shows that the correlations over predict the heat transfer coefficients for this mixture when stratified and stratified-wavy flow prevail. Multiple regression technique is used to evolve and modify existing correlations to predict the heat transfer coefficient of the refrigerant mixture. It is found that the modified version of Lavin–Young correlation (1965) predicts the heat transfer coefficient of the considered mixture within an average deviation of ±20.5 %.     

Numerical simulation of capillary-tube expansion devices behaviour with pure and mixed refrigerants considering metastable region. Part II: experimental validation and parametric studies

A detailed one-dimensional steady and transient numerical simulation of the thermal and fluid-dynamic behaviour of capillary-tube expansion devices working with pure and mixed refrigerants has been developed and presented in part I of this article. The accuracy of the detailed simulation model is demonstrated in this paper by comparison with experimental data from the technical literature.Results presented include both metastable flow modelling and non-metastable flow modelling, homogeneous and separated flow model for metastable flow and the used of different empirical correlation needed in the numerical model. Comparisons of model prediction between various approaches are discussed.Numerical results and parametric studies for concentric capillary tube-suction line heat exchangers have also been presented.     

A comparison of flow characteristics of refrigerants flowing through adiabatic straight and helical capillary tubes

This paper presents a numerical investigation of the flow characteristics of helical capillary tubes compared with straight capillary tubes. The homogenous two-phase flow model developed is based on the conservation of mass, energy, and momentum of the fluids in the capillary tube. This model is validated by comparing it with the experimental data of both straight and helical capillary tubes. Comparisons of the predicted results between the straight and helical capillary tubes are presented, together with the experimental results for straight capillary tubes obtained by previous researchers. The results show that the refrigerant flowing through the straight capillary tube provides a slightly lower pressure drop than that in the helical capillary tube, which resulted in a total tube length that was longer by about 20%. In addition, for the same tube length, the mass flow rate in the helical capillary tube with a coil diameter of 40 mm is 9% less than that in the straight tube. Finally, the results obtained from the present model show reasonable agreement with the experimental data of helical capillary tubes and can also be applied to predict the flow characteristics of straight capillary tubes by changing to straight tube friction factors, for which Churchill's equation was used in the present study.     

Experimental and numerical investigation of thermal -hydraulic performance in wavy fin-and-flat tube heat exchangers

To the more deeply understand the enhancement heat transfer mechanism and optimization design for wavy fin-and-flat tube heat exchangers, three-dimensional numerical simulations and experimental investigation of air flow and heat transfer characteristics over the wavy fin heat exchangers are presented in this study. The numerical simulation results compared with the wind tunnel test data, the results show that the numerical simulation results are in good with the test. The experimental results show that, in the range of Re = 1000–5500, the standard k-ε mode (SST) is more suitable to predict the air flow and heat transfer of wavy fin. The waviness amplitude has the distinct effect on the heat transfer and pressure drop of wavy fin, while the wavy fin profile (Triangular, Sinusoidal and Triangular round corner) has little effect on the heat transfer performance. In additional, the enhancement heat transfer mechanism of wavy fin is explained in view of field synergy principle. Reduction the synergy angle between velocity and temperature gradient will induce to the heat transfer coefficients increase of wavy fin.     

Numerical study on heat transfer characteristics of double tube heat exchangers with alternating horizontal or vertical oval cross section pipes as inner tubes

In this paper, a numerical study on the flows in parallel and counter flow double tube heat exchangers with the inner tubes being either alternating horizontal or vertical oval cross section pipes or circular pipes is presented. The results include temperature and pressure contours and velocity vectors at several selected cross sections, axial averaged Nusselt number distributions and distributions of overall heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer enhancement factor versus three different parameters. The computation shows that the introduction of the inner alternating oval tube produces axial vortices in both the inner and outer tube flows, and the tube’s heat transfer performance is improved as a result. In general, the counter flow arrangement returns a higher level of overall heat transfer coefficient than the parallel flow arrangement. However, in terms of the magnitude of heat transfer enhancement, the performance of the parallel flow arrangement is slightly better than that of the counter flow.     

Numerical and experimental investigations of heat transfer performance of rectangular coil heat exchangers

Both numerical and experimental investigations were conducted to understand convective heat transfer from a single round pipe coiled in rectangular pattern. The studied heat exchangers are composed with inner and outer coils so that the exterior flow is very similar to flow within tube-bundles. The inner and outer coils of the heat exchangers are in turn composed of bends and straight portions. Calculations and experiments were done for two cases with different outside flow arrangements. The results showed the effects of geometric arrangement with better heat transfer for the case 1 of staggered arrangement due mainly to its more tortuous flow characteristics and better mixing of the exterior fluid. The numerical and experimental results qualitatively agree well with each other. The numerical and experimental results showed that coiling a pipe so that an exterior fluid flows over or in tube bundle can help to induce the turbulence without increasing the velocity.