Characteristics of two-phase flow pattern transitions and pressure drop of five refrigerants in horizontal circular small tubes

Abstract

An experimental investigation on the characteristics of two-phase flow pattern transitions and pressure drop of R-22, R-134a, R-410A, R-290 and R-744 in horizontal small stainless steel tubes of 0.5, 1.5 and 3.0 mm inner diameters is presented. Experimental data were obtained over a heat flux range of 5–40 kW/m 2, mass flux range of 50–600 kg/(m 2 s), saturation temperature range of 0–15 °C, and quality up to 1.0. Experimental data were evaluated with Wang et al. and Wojtan et al. [Wang, C.C., Chiang, C.S., Lu, D.C., 1997. Visual observation of two-phase flow pattern of R-22, R-134a, and R-407C in a 6.5-mm smooth tube. Exp. Therm. Fluid Sci. 15, 395–405; Wojtan, L., Ursenbacher, T., Thome, J.R., 2005. Investigation of flow boiling in horizontal tubes: part I – a new diabatic two-phase flow pattern map. Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 48, 2955–2969.] flow pattern maps. The effects of mass flux, heat flux, saturation temperature and inner tube diameter on the pressure drop of the working refrigerants are reported. The experimental pressure drop was compared with the predictions from some existing correlations. A new two-phase pressure drop model that is based on a superposition model for two-phase flow boiling of refrigerants in small tubes is presented.