Flow Condensation of Low-GWP Zeotropic Mixtures Inside 5 mm OD Micro-Finned Tube

Abstract

In response to stringent rules inhibiting the implementation of refrigerants with high global warming impact, alternative candidates should undergo assessments to prove their viability. The mixtures R450A and R454B, being the center of the current focus, underwent experimentation for flow condensation inside a mini-scale micro-finned tube of 5 mm outer diameter. The operating conditions were set to be in the range of 0.1 to 0.95 for vapor quality, 75 to 400 kg m−2 s−1 for mass flux, and recorded at saturation temperatures of 30 and 40 °C. Having concluded the evaluations of thermal and hydraulic properties of heat transfer coefficient (HTC) and frictional pressure drop (FPD), a comparison was drawn between the two candidates, where R450A possessed superior HTC and higher FPD per unit length at higher vapor qualities due to lower vapor density. Ultimately, empirical models pertinent to flow condensation were compared with the acquired experimental results.