Abstract
This study examined the two-phase flow boiling pressure drop and heat transfer for propane, as a long term alternative refrigerant, in horizontal minichannels. The pressure drop and local heat transfer coefficients were obtained for heat fluxes ranging from 5–20 kW m −2, mass fluxes ranging from 50–400 kg m −2 s −1, saturation temperatures of 10, 5 and 0 °C, and quality up to 1.0. The test section was made of stainless steel tubes with inner diameters of 1.5 mm and 3.0 mm, and lengths of 1000 mm and 2000 mm, respectively. The present study showed the effect of mass flux, heat flux, inner tube diameter and saturation temperature on pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient. The experimental results were compared against several existing pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient prediction methods. Because the study on evaporation with propane in minichannels was limited, new correlations of pressure drop and boiling heat transfer coefficient were developed in this present study.
Highlights
Nowadays, the ozone depletion and global warming potential of commonly used refrigerant have been considered as a major environmental matter
As demonstrated in the apparatus module, the heat was applied on test tubes through uniform current, and the local temperature was evaluated at the cross section where there is an attached the thermo‐ couple, the inside wall temperatures at each point could be determined by using steady state one-dimensional radial conduction heat transfer through the wall with internal heat generation
Based on the one proposed by Chen [43], Choi et al [6] developed a new correlation for the two-phase flow boiling of propane
Summary
The ozone depletion and global warming potential of commonly used refrigerant have been considered as a major environmental matter. Propane has a high flammability that meets the safety demands of refrigerants in design and operation. It means that the propane refrigeration systems should work with minimum refrigerant charges and zero refrigerant leakage. Since various researches observed the many differences of heat transfer and pressure drop of refrigerants in the mini/microchannels and conventional channels [3, 4]. The studies on these characteristics of propane in mini/microchannels and valuable information will be provided for researchers in related fields. The content is believed to bring up the general understanding, as well as useful information on heat exchanger designs to the readers
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