Measurement and correlation for two-phase frictional pressure drop characteristics of flow boiling in printed circuit heat exchangers

Abstract

Abstract The two-phase frictional pressure drop characteristics of flow boiling in zigzag channels of the printed circuit heat exchangers (PCHEs) under different conditions were investigated experimentally. The research results show that, the friction factor f of zigzag channel is increased by 9%∼17% than that of the straight channel; as the vapor quality increases, the frictional pressure drop initially increases and then decreases, reprensting a maximum value at vapor quality of 0.9; the frictional pressure drop always decreases with the increasing saturated pressure when the void fraction is higher than 0.90, and it increases with the increasing heat flux due to the larger average vapor quality and the smaller average pressure. A new correlation for the frictional pressure drop of flow boiling in PCHEs was developed within a deviation of ±25%.