Baek Youn

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

Abstract 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, Webbs 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.

Effect of inclination on the air-side performance of a brazed aluminum heat exchanger under dry and wet conditions

This study presents the effect of an inclination angle from the vertical position on the air-side thermal hydraulic performance for a multi-louvered fin and flat tube heat exchanger. For a heat exchanger with a louver angle of 27°, fin pitch of 1.4 mm and flow depth of 20 mm, a series of tests for dry and wet surface conditions were conducted for the air-side Reynolds numbers of 100–300. The inclination angles from the vertical position were 0°, ±30°, ±45°, and ±60° clockwise. The heat transfer performance for both dry and wet conditions was neither influenced significantly by the inclination angle (−60°<θ<60°), nor by the presence or absence of an upstream duct, while the pressure drops increased consistently with the inclination angle. The heat transfer coefficients and the pressure drops for the wet conditions revealed the importance of the role of condensate drainage.

Forced convective boiling of pure refrigerants in a bundle of enhanced tubes having pores and connecting gaps

Abstract In this study, convective boiling tests were conducted for enhanced tube bundles. The surface geometry consists of pores and connecting gaps. Tubes with three different pore sizes (dp=0.20, 0.23 and 0.27 mm) were tested using R-123 and R-134a for the following range: 8 kg / m 2 s ⩽G⩽26 kg / m 2 s , 10 kW / m 2 ⩽q⩽40 kW / m 2 and 0.1⩽x⩽0.9. The convective boiling heat transfer coefficients were strongly dependent on heat flux with negligible dependency on mass flux or quality. For the present enhanced geometry (pores and gaps), the convective effect was apparent. The gaps of the present tubes may have served routes for the passage of two-phase mixtures, and enhanced the boiling heat transfer. The convective effect was more pronounced at a higher saturation temperature. More bubbles will be generated at a higher saturation temperature, which will lead to enhanced convective contribution. The pore size where the maximum heat transfer coefficient was obtained was larger for R-134a ( d p =0.27 mm ) compared with that for R-123 ( d p =0.23 mm ). This trend was consistent with the previous pool boiling results. For the enhanced tube bundles, the convective effect was more pronounced for R-134a than for R-123. This trend was reversed for the smooth tube bundle. Possible reasoning is provided based on the bubble behavior on the tube wall. Both the modified Chen and the asymptotic model predicted the present data reasonably well. The RMSEs were 14.3% for the modified Chen model and 12.7% for the asymptotic model.

Evaluation of thermal contact conductance using a new experimental-numerical method in fin-tube heat exchangers

In a fin-tube heat exchanger the contact between fin collar and tube surface is obtained through mechanical expansion of tubes. Since the interfaces between the tubes and fins consist partially of metal-to-metal contact and partially of air, the features of heat transfer through the contact interfaces have not been fully investigated. The present study aims at the development of a new tool including an experiment and a numerical calculation for the estimation of the thermal contact conductance between the fin collar and tube surface, and pursues the evaluation of the factors affecting the thermal contact conductance in a fin-tube heat exchanger. Heat exchangers fabricated for the current study have been put to the test for heat balance in a vacuum chamber with water as an internal fluid. And a finite difference numerical scheme has been used for the data reduction of the experimental data to evaluate the thermal contact conductance. Fin-tube heat exchangers employed in the current research are of tube diameter of 7 mm with different tube expansion ratios, fin spacings, and fin types. The results of the present study imply that these parameters as well as hydrophilic fin coating have a significant effect on the thermal contact conductance. It has been discovered that the portion of the thermal contact resistance is not negligible compared with the total thermal resistance in a fin-tube heat exchanger, and this means that in order to reduce the thermal contact resistance thoughtful care should be taken in fabricating heat exchangers.

Flow and Pressure Drop Characteristics of R22 in Adiabatic Capillary Tubes

The objective of this study is to present flow and pressure drop characteristics of R22 in adiabatic capillary tubes of inner diameters of 1.2 to 2.0 mm, and tube lengths of 500 to 2000 mm. Distributions of temperature and pressure along capillary tubes and the refrigerant flow rates through the tubes were measured for several condensing temperatures and various degrees of subcooling at the capillary tube inlet. Condensing temperatures of R22 were selected as 40, 45, and 50°C at the capillary tube inlet, and the degree of subcooling was adjusted to 1 to 18°C. Experimental results including mass flow rates and pressure drops of R22 in capillary tubes were provided. A new correlation based on Buckingham π theorem to predict the mass flow rate through the capillary tube was presented considering major parameters which affect the flow and pressure drop characteristics.

Air-side Performance of Louver-Finned Flat Aluminum Heat Exchangers at a Low Velocity Region

The heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of heat exchangers with louver fins were experimentally investigated. The samples had small fin pitches (1.0 mm to 1.4 mm), and experiments were conducted up to a very low frontal air velocity (as low as 0.3 m/s). At a certain Reynolds number (critical Reynolds number), the flattening of the heat transfer coefficient curve was observed. The critical Reynolds number was insensitive to the louver angle, and decreased as the louver pitch to fin pitch ratio (LF) decreased. Existing correlations on the critical Reynolds number did not adequately predict the data. It is suggested that, for proper assessment of the heat transfer behavior, the louver pattern in addition to the flow characterization need to be considered. The heat transfer coefficient increased as the fin pitch decreased. At low Reynolds numbers, however, the trend was reversed. Possible explanation is provided considering the louver pattern between neighboring fins. Different from the heat transfer coefficient, the friction factor did not show the flattening characteristic. The reason may be attributed to the form drag by louvers, which offsets the decreased skin friction at a low Reynolds number. The friction factor increased as the fin pitch decreased and the louver angle increased. A new correlation predicted 92% of the heat transfer coefficient and 90% of the friction factor within 10%.10%.