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Condensation heat transfer and pressure drop of R-410A in a 7.0 mm O.D. microfin tube at low mass fluxes

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Abstract

R-410A condensation heat transfer and pressure drop data are provided for a 7.0 mm O.D. microfin tube at low mass fluxes (50–250 kg/m2 s). The heat transfer coefficient of the microfin tube shows a minimum behavior with the mass flux. At a low mass flux, where flow pattern is stratified, condensation induced by surface tension by microfins overwhelms condensation induced by shear, and the heat transfer coefficient decreases as mass flux increases. At a high mass flux, where flow pattern is annular, condensation induced by shear governs the heat transfer, and the heat transfer coefficient increases as mass flux increases. The pressure drop of the microfin tube is larger than that of the smooth tube at the annular flow regime. On the contrary, the pressure drop of the smooth tube is larger than that of the microfin tube at the stratified flow regime.

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Abbreviations

A :

Heat transfer area (m2)

c p :

Specific heat (kJ/kg K)

D :

Tube diameter (m)

D h :

Hydraulic diameter (m)

\(dP/dz\) :

Pressure gradient (kPa/m)

e :

Fin height (m)

EF :

Enhancment factor

f :

Friction factor

g :

Gravitational constant (m/s2)

G :

Mass flux (kg/m2 s)

h :

Heat transfer coefficient (kW/m2 K)

i fg :

Latent heat of vaporization (kJ/kg)

j g :

Superficial velocity of gas (m/s)

k :

Thermal conductivity (W/mK)

L :

Length (m)

\(\dot{m}\) :

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

n :

Number of fins

Nu:

Nusselt number

P :

Pressure (Pa)

PF :

Penalty factor

P w :

Wetted perimeter (m)

Pr:

Prandtl number

Q :

Heat transfer rate (kW)

\(q^{{\prime \prime }}\) :

Heat flux (kW/m)

Re:

Reynolds number

t :

Tube wall thickness (m)

T :

Temperature (K)

U :

Overall heat transfer coefficient (kW/m2 K)

v :

Specific volume (m3/kg)

V :

Velocity (m/s)

x :

Vapor quality

X :

Martinelli parameter

z :

Flow direction (m)

α :

Void fraction

β :

Helix angle (°)

γ :

Fin apex angle (°)

µ :

Viscosity (Pa s)

ΔT :

Temperature difference (K)

\(\phi\) :

Two-phase multiplier

ρ :

Density (kg/m3)

a:

Actual, acceleration

an:

Annular

ave:

Average

corr:

Correlation

crit:

Critical

exp:

Experimental

f:

Friction

fa:

Flow area

fg:

Liquid to gas

h:

Hydraulic

i:

Inside

in:

Inlet

f:

Friction

l:

Liquid

lm:

Log mean

m:

Melt-down, middle

mix:

Mixture

o:

Outside

p:

Pre-heater

pred:

Prediction

r:

Fin root, refrigerant

sat:

Saturation

st:

Stratified

t:

Tip

w:

Water

v:

Vapor

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  1. School of Mechanical System Engineering, Incheon National University, 12-1, Songdo-Dong, Yeonsu-Gu, Inchon, 406-772, Republic of Korea

    Nae-Hyun Kim

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Kim, NH. Condensation heat transfer and pressure drop of R-410A in a 7.0 mm O.D. microfin tube at low mass fluxes. Heat Mass Transfer 52, 2833–2847 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-016-1789-2

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