Experimental study on thermal performance of plate evaporator under yawing and heaving conditions

Abstract

To elucidate the role of marine sloshing in thermal performance of plate evaporators, an experimental system of flow boiling in plate evaporator was constructed, integrating with a six-degree-of-freedom motion platform. The effects of sloshing modes (yawing and heaving), mass flow rate, sloshing frequency, amplitude, and intensity on the boiling performance of plate evaporator were examined and investigated. The experimental results indicate that, both yawing and heaving motions significantly enhance the boiling heat transfer performance of the R410A plate evaporator. In the yawing motion, the frequency and amplitude both play a role in bolstering the heat transfer capabilities of the evaporator. As the intensity of the sloshing increases, the heat transfer performance of the plate evaporator significantly improves compared to stable conditions, with enhancements ranging from 6% to 33%. As the intensity of the sloshing increases, the heat transfer performance of the plate evaporator significantly improves compared to stable conditions, with enhancements ranging from 7% to 84%. Notably, the impact of heaving motion on heat transfer enhancement surpasses that of the yawing motion. In addition, a heat transfer correlation for the R410A was introduced to evaluate the boiling heat transfer in plate evaporator under the yawing and heaving conditions.