Prediction of heat exchanger capacity by thermal network method (Influence of thermal conduction in fins on capacity of a condenser)

This paper describes the influence of heat flow from high‐temperature refrigerant to low‐temperature refrigerant through fins by thermal conduction. To estimate that influence, we applied a thermal network method that can consider refrigerant quality distribution in the heat exchanger. At the same time, for verifying the estimation, an experiment was performed with a two‐row, two‐pass heat exchanger. Prediction shows that the heat transfer capacity of a condenser is reduced by 3% for a simple two‐row, two‐pass heat exchanger by heat conduction in fins. Comparison of experimental results and predicted results proves that the prediction error was within 1% for condenser capacity. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 37(2): 101–114, 2008; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20184