A general heat transfer correlation for flow condensation in single port mini and macro channels using genetic programming

Abstract

• Evaluated previous flow condensation heat transfer coefficient correlations. • Proposed a new correlation for condensation heat transfer in mini and macro channels. • Verified the model with 6521 data points from 40 published papers. • Discussed the effects of the input parameters on the heat transfer coefficient. A new general explicit correlation is proposed to predict the heat transfer coefficient of fluids condensing in conventional and mini channels. The expression has been developed by correlating the Nu mix number with Re mix , Pr mix , phase density ratio, P res , We GT , and Fr L using genetic programming for the two-phase flow. The model has been validated with a big dataset consisting of 6521 data samples, covering a wide range of fluids used in refrigeration and heat pump industries, cross-sectional geometries (different diameters), mass fluxes, and saturation temperatures. The new generalized correlation fits the wide range of data points used with an average relative error of 17.82 %. The same database has been used to compare predictions of eight correlations available in the literature, but they failed to give a reasonable estimation of the present experimental results.