Ho-Won Byun

Heat Transfer Characteristics in the Evaporator of a Soft Ice Cream Maker

Soft icecream is made by scraping an ice formed on the inside of the cylindrical evaporator, where R-404A is evaporating in the annulus. The heat transfer characteristics of the refrigerant evaporation and those during icecream formation were experimentally investigated. Results show that the refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficients are highly dependent on the location in the evaporator due to the complex annulus configuration. The heat transfer coefficient at the inlet is generally lower than those of other locations. The average heat transfer coefficient increases as heat flux increases or saturation temperature decreases. A correlation is developed to predict the refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficient. The icecream-side heat transfer coefficient oscillates continuously due to the periodic removal of ice formed on the surface. The average heat transfer coefficient during icecream formation is approximately 280 W/m 2 K, and that during single-phase cooling increased from 150 W/㎡K to 250 W/m 2 K.

Refrigerant Distribution in a Minichannel Evaporator Having Vertical Headers

Refrigerant R-410a flow distribution is experimentally studied in a test section simulating a minichannel heat exchanger having vertical headers with two pass configuration. Tubes are heated to yield a test section outlet superheat of 5°C with inlet quality of 0.3. Mass flux is varied from 60 kg/m2-s to 70 kg/m2-s. Effects of outlet locations are investigated in a search for an optimum configuration. The effect of varying the number of tubes of each pass is also investigated. Results show that significant liquid flows through bottom channels, and less liquid is supplied to top channels. For the outlet location, a bottom outlet is better than a middle or top outlet. In addition, assigning a lower number of tubes to inlet pass yields better flow distribution. Correlations are developed for the fraction of liquid or gas taken off by the downstream channel as a function of header gas Reynolds number immediately upstream. The correlations may be used to predict the liquid or gas distribution in a parallel-flow heat exchanger havin vertical headers.