Abstract
This study aims to provide an experimental investigation and comparison of the condensation heat transfer characteristics in a plate–fin heat exchanger (PFHE). The heat flux, mass flux, and saturation pressure were adjusted as experimental parameters to verify the effects on the condensation heat transfer. In addition, condensation heat transfer correlation of two-stream PFHEs was provided based on the experimental data for utilization as a design reference for the heat exchanger. The turbulence is the most influential in heat transfer. One of the ways to foster turbulence is to increase shear stress. The higher flow velocity results in the higher shear stress. That was why increasing mass flux or the flow with higher vapor quality showed the higher heat transfer coefficient (HTC). Refrigerant properties such as viscosity and specific volume of vapor changed according to the saturation pressure. It is expected they affect the degree of turbulence too in similar manners. The mass flux was more influential than the heat flux and saturation pressure. Thus, the equivalent mass flux of the refrigerant is dominant in the derived correlation model. The average difference between experimental and calculated HTC from correlations was about 6.5%. Multi-stream PFHE comprises an additional heat transfer surface, which implies a more active droplet formation. The average pressure drop in the multi-stream is 15% larger than that of the two-stream.
Highlights
The thermal performance enhancement of heat exchangers, which are essentially used in almost all types of thermal processes, has been considered a key topic owing to an interest in global energy efficiency enhancement
The results regarding the heat transfer showed that the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) increased as the heat flux increased, but its effect on the pressure drop was not notable
Yan et al [7] conducted research on the characteristics of plate heat exchangers, and the results indicated that an increase in the saturation pressure led to a decrease in the condensation HTC
Summary
The thermal performance enhancement of heat exchangers, which are essentially used in almost all types of thermal processes, has been considered a key topic owing to an interest in global energy efficiency enhancement. Raju et al [5] studied the evaporation heat transfer of R-134a and the pressure drop at a plate–fin heat exchanger (PFHE) with wavy fins. The results regarding the heat transfer showed that the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) increased as the heat flux increased, but its effect on the pressure drop was not notable. The condensation HTCs were significantly higher than the values obtained from the generally suggested correlation of condensation heat transfer, indicating that a proper correlation equation may be required. Sakamatapan et al [6] reported the condensation heat transfer characteristics of R-134a in multiport mini channels based on thermal and geometric properties.
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