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].     

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.     

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.     

Effects of fin shape on condensation in herringbone microfin tubes

Effects of fin height and helix angle on condensation inside a herringbone microfin tube have been experimentally investigated with five types of herringbone microfin tubes. Heat transfer coefficients are about 2–4 times higher than that of the helical microfin tube under high mass velocity conditions. In the low mass velocity, they are equal to that of the helical microfin tube. The heat transfer enhancement increases with fin height up to 0.18 mm; higher fin heights show enhancement values similar to the 0.18 mm results. Pressure drop increases with the fin height. Larger helix angle yields higher heat transfer and higher pressure drop. For the lowest fin and/or smallest helix angle, the pressure drop is comparable with that of the helical microfin tube, while the heat transfer enhancement is higher. The enhancement mechanism is discussed from flow pattern observations. Effect of mass transfer resistance for R410A is estimated and negligible effects have been proved.     

Heat transfer and flow pattern during two-phase flow boiling of R-134a in horizontal smooth and microfin tubes

Flow pattern and heat transfer during evaporation in a 10.7 mm diameter smooth tube and a micro-fin tube are presented. The tubes were tested in the ranges of mass flux between 163 and 408 kg m⁻² s⁻¹, and heat flux between 2200 and 56 000 W m⁻². The evaporation temperature was 6 °C. Flow maps for both the tubes are plotted in the coordinates of mass flux and vapor quality. The relations of flow pattern and local heat transfer coefficient are discussed. The heat transfer coefficients for intermittent and annular flows in both the smooth tube and the micro-fin tube are shown to agree well with Gungor and Winterton's correlation with modified constants.     

Friction factor correlation and pressure loss of single-phase flow inside herringbone microfin tubes

Pressure drop of single-phase turbulent flow inside herringbone microfin tubes of different fin dimensions has been measured experimentally to develop a general correlation of single-phase friction factor for the herringbone tubes. Water has been used as a working fluid and the mass flow rate has been varied from 0.03 to 0.2 kg/s, where the Reynolds number range is 10⁴ to 6.5 × 10⁴. Comparison of experimental data of the herringbone microfin tubes with those of helical microfin and smooth tubes shows that pressure drop of the herringbone tube is significantly higher than the helical and smooth tubes depending on the fin geometric parameters and mass velocity of the working fluid. Through semi-analytical approach and using the present experimental data, a new correlation of single-phase friction factor for the herringbone microfin tubes has been proposed incorporating the effects of fin geometric parameters. The proposed correlation can predict the experimental data within ±10%.     

Convective boiling performance of refrigerant R-134a in herringbone and microfin copper tubes

This paper reports an experimental investigation of convective boiling heat transfer and pressure drop of refrigerant R-134a in smooth, standard microfin and herringbone copper tubes of 9.52 mm external diameter. Tests have been conducted under the following conditions: inlet saturation temperature of 5 °C, qualities from 5 to 90%, mass velocity from 100 to 500 kg s⁻¹ m⁻², and a heat flux of 5 kW m⁻². Experimental results indicate that the herringbone tube has a distinct heat transfer performance over the mass velocity range considered in the present study. Thermal performance of the herringbone tube has been found better than that of the standard microfin in the high range of mass velocities, and worst for the smallest mass velocity (G=100 kg s⁻¹ m⁻²) at qualities higher than 50%. The herringbone tube pressure drop is higher than that of the standard microfin tube over the whole range of mass velocities and qualities. The enhancement parameter is higher than one for both tubes for mass velocities lower than 200 kg s⁻¹ m⁻². Values lower than one have been obtained for both tubes in the mass velocity upper range as a result of a significant pressure drop increment not followed by a correspondent increment in the heat transfer coefficient.     

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.     

Measurement and prediction of heat transfer coefficient on ammonia flow boiling in a microfin plate evaporator

Thermal characteristics of ammonia flow boiling in a microfin plate evaporator are experimentally investigated. Titanium microfin heat transfer surface is manufactured to enhance boiling heat transfer. Longitudinally- and laterally-microfined surfaces are used and those performances are compared. Heat transfer coefficient of microfin plate evaporator is also compared with that of plain-surface plate evaporator. The effects of mass flux, heat flux, channel height, and saturation pressure on heat transfer coefficient are presented and discussed. The experiments are conducted for the range of mass flux (5 and 7.5 kg m⁻² s⁻¹), heat flux (10, 15, and 20 kW m⁻²), channel height (1, 2, and 5 mm), and saturation pressure (0.7 and 0.9 MPa). Heat transfer coefficient is compared with that predicted by available empirical correlations proposed by other researchers. Modified correlations using Lockhart-Martinelli parameter to predict heat transfer coefficient are developed and they cover more than 87% of the experimental data.     

State-of-the-art of two-phase flow and flow boiling heat transfer and pressure drop of CO2 in macro- and micro-channels

A comprehensive review of flow boiling heat transfer and two-phase flow of CO₂ is presented that covers both macro-channel tests (diameters greater than about 3 mm) and micro-channel investigations (diameters less than about 3 mm). The review addresses flow boiling heat transfer experimental studies, macro- and micro-scale heat transfer prediction methods for CO₂ and comparisons of these methods to the experimental database, highlighting the various limitations of current approaches and the divergence of some data sets from others. In addition, two-phase flow pattern results available in the literature are summarized and compared to some of the leading flow pattern maps, showing significant deviations for CO₂ from the maps prepared for other fluids at lower pressures. Available two-phase pressure drop data for CO₂ are also compared to leading prediction methods.     

An experimental study of the fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics in micro-condensers with slug-bubbly flow

Experiments were conducted to study the condensation flow pattern in silicon micro-condensers using water as the medium. Slug-bubbly flow was found to be one of the dominant flows in the micro-condenser and it was a major factor in determining the heat transfer and pressure drop properties of the fluid inside the micro-condenser. The transition from the slug-bubbly flow to a mixed flow pattern was studied. A correlation was obtained to predict when the transition of the flow pattern would occur. Only slug-bubbly flow existed under low steam mass flow rate and high heat transfer rate conditions. As the steam mass flow rate increased or the heat transfer rate dropped, the mixed flow pattern would then appear. In the slug-bubbly flow regime, the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop in the micro-condensers were investigated in detail. It was found that micro-condensers with smaller channels could exhibit higher heat transfer coefficients with the same Reynolds number. The condensation heat transfer coefficient was higher than that in the tubes with the diameter of centimeter. Pressure drops in the micro-condensers with smaller channels were higher due to the increased transition loss. At the same time, the pressure drop in the micro-condenser was found to be lower than what could be predicted using the macro-scale correlation. Increasing the heat flux would create a longer bubble–film region and fewer unit cells in the micro-condenser resulting in an increased heat transfer coefficient and a decreased pressure drop.     

Flow pattern and heat transfer characteristics during flow boiling of CO2 in a horizontal micro fin tube and comparison with smooth tube data

Flow pattern observations and measurements of the heat transfer in a helical grooved micro fin tube are presented and compared with results for a smooth tube. The micro fin tube used (OD of 9.52 mm) was a Wieland Cuprofin EDX tube with 60 fins (height 0.25 mm) and a helix angle of 18°. The flow pattern observations at 39.7 bar (T_s=+5 °C, p_r=0.54) and 26.4 bar (T_s=−10 °C, p_r=0.36) show a wide range of the annular flow region. The transition from slug to annular flow does not occur, as expected, at constant vapour quality for all mass fluxes but there is an interdependence between transition vapour quality and mass flux. For the heat transfer in the micro fin tube, measurements at 39.7 bar are presented for heat fluxes up to 120 kW m⁻², mass fluxes between 75 and 250 kg m⁻² s⁻¹ and vapour qualities between 0.1 and 0.9.     

R404A condensing under forced flow conditions inside smooth, microfin and cross-hatched horizontal tubes

Two-phase heat transfer coefficient characteristics of R404A condensing under forced flow conditions inside smooth, microfin and cross-hatched horizontal tubes are experimentally investigated. Experimental parameters include a lubricating polyol ester oil concentration varied from 0 to 4%. The test runs were done at average inlet saturated condensing temperatures of 40 °C. The inlet vapor was kept at saturation (quality=1.0). The mass fluxes were between 200 and 600 kg/m² s, and the heat fluxes were selected to obtain a quality of 0.0 at the outlet of the test section, varying from 5 to 45 kW/m². The heat transfer enhancement factor varied between 1.8 and 2.4 for both microfin and cross-hatched tubes. The larger values applied for larger mass fluxes for the cross-hatched tube and smaller mass fluxes for the microfin tube. Enhancement factors increased as oil concentration increased up to oil concentrations of 2%. For higher oil concentrations the enhancement decreased especially at high mass fluxes, the cross-hatched tube being less sensitive to oil contamination. Pressure drop in the test section increased by approximately 25% as the oil concentration increased from 0 to 4%. The results from the experiments are compared with those calculated from correlations reported in the literature. Moreover, modified correlations for the condensation heat transfer coefficient are proposed for practical applications.     

Evaporation heat transfer characteristics of R-410A in 7 and 9.52 mm smooth/micro-fin tubes

In-tube evaporation heat transfer characteristics of R-410A were experimentally investigated and analyzed as a function of evaporating temperature, mass flux, heat flux, and tube geometry. Evaporation heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops were measured for 3.0 m long smooth and micro-fin tubes with outer diameters of 9.52 and 7.0 mm, respectively. The test matrix in the present study included measurements for evaporation over a refrigerant mass flux range of 70–211 kg/m²s, a heat flux range of 5–15 kW/m² and an evaporating temperature range of −15 to 5. The objective of this study is to evaluate the heat transfer enhancement of the micro-fin tube with R-410A as a function of mass flux, heat flux, evaporating temperature and tube diameter.     

Empirical correlations for heat transfer and flow friction characteristics of herringbone wavy fin-and-tube heat exchangers

This study presents an empirical correlation describing the airside performance of herringbone wavy fin pattern. A total of 61 samples containing approximately 570 data points are used in the regression analysis. The proposed heat transfer correlation can describe 91% of the test data within ±15% with a mean deviation of 6.98% while the proposed friction correlation can describe 85% of the database within ±15% with a mean deviation of 8.82%.     

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.     

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.     

An investigation of the airside performance of the slit fin-and-tube heat exchangersEtude de la performance côté air d''échangeurs de chaleurs à tubes à ailettes à fentes

The airside performance of fin-and-tube heat exchangers having slit geometry is experimentally investigated in this study. A total of 12 samples were tested and compared. Effects of fin pitch and the number of tube row were examined. The test results indicated that the heat transfer performance increase with decrease of fin pitch for N=1. However, for N4, the effect of fin pitch on the heat transfer performance is reversed. In addition to the effect of fin pitch, the heat transfer performance decrease with increase of the number of tube row and the friction factors are relatively independent of the number of tube row. Based on the present test results and those from previous investigations, a general correlation is proposed to describe the airside performance of the slit fin configuration, the mean deviations of the proposed heat transfer and friction correlation are 5.5 and 3.8%, respectively.     

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.     

Pool boiling heat transfer of carbon dioxide on a horizontal tube

Carbon dioxide is again becoming an important refrigerant. While the thermophysical properties are well known there is a lack of data on its heat transfer characteristics.

In this study, heat transfer coefficients for nucleate boiling of carbon dioxide are determined using a standard apparatus for the investigation of pool boiling based on a set-up from Karlsruhe [D. Gorenflo, J. Goetz, K. Bier. Vorschlag für eine Standard-Apparatur zur Messung des Wärmeübergangs beim Blasensieden. Wärme-und Stoffübertragung 16 (1982), 69–78; J. Goetz, Entwicklung und Erprobung einer Normapparatur zur Messung des Wärmeübergangs beim Blasensieden. Dissertation Universität Karlsruhe (1980).] and built at our institute. Electrically heated horizontal cylinders with an outer diameter of 16 mm and a length of 100 mm are used as heating elements. Measurements with constant heat flux are performed for different wall materials and surface roughnesses. The heat transfer is investigated within the pressure range of 0.53≤ p ≤1.43 MPa (0.072≤ p/p_c ≤0.190) and a temperature range of −56≤ t ≤−30 °C, respectively. Heat fluxes of up to 80,000 W m⁻² are applied.

The influences of wall material and roughness on the heat transfer coefficient are evaluated separately. The obtained coefficients are compared to generally accepted correlations and to experimental results of other authors, who used similar configurations with copper tubes and carbon dioxide. These are the only previous experimental data, which could be found. Results for copper, stainless steel and aluminium as wall materials are presented.