Refrigerant-side Heat Transfer Coefficient Research Articles

Performance of the two-phase ejector expansion refrigeration cycle

This paper is a continuation of the authors’ previous work. The paper presents new experimental data of the system performance of the two-phase ejector refrigeration cycle (TPERC). The TPERC uses a two-phase ejector as an expansion device while the conventional refrigeration cycle (CRC) uses an expansion valve. The TPERC enables the evaporator to be flooded with refrigerant, resulting in a higher refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficient. The experimental study shows that the TPERC gives a higher cooling capacity and a higher coefficient of performance. Moreover, the pressure ratio and the discharge temperature of the compressor of the TPERC are lower than those of the CRC.

Optimized design of a heat exchanger for an air-to-water reversible heat pump working with propane (R290) as refrigerant: Modelling analysis and experimental observations

An experimental study of an air-to-water reversible heat pump unit was carried out using two different fin-and-tube heat exchanger “coil” designs and propane (R290) as the working fluid. The main aim of these tests was to search for optimized coil design concepts. The performance of the heat pump was evaluated for each coil design at different superheat conditions at the inlet of the compressor in both modes of operation: heating and cooling. Coefficient of Performance (COP) in both modes of each heat pump unit using two different coil design are presented. Experimental measurements are compared against model predictions. The mean refrigerant side heat transfer coefficient and the pressure drop as a function of mass flux along the flow path are calculated. As a results of tests, it was found that the performance was obtained in the heat pump unit using coil-2 design with less refrigerant circuit and a higher length of circuit with a superheat of around 6 K in both modes of operation. From the calculation it was found that in both modes of operation coil-2 design gives higher heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops for the refrigerant side.

Flash gas bypass for improving the performance of transcritical R744 systems that use microchannel evaporators

The performance of transcritical R744 systems with direct expansion (DX) can be significantly improved by implementing a Flash Gas Bypass (FGB). The idea behind the concept is to bypass refrigerant vapor, created during the isenthalpic expansion process, around the evaporator. By feeding the evaporator with liquid refrigerant, pressure drop is reduced and refrigerant distribution is improved. With R744 as the working fluid, increased refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficients are expected as well. In addition, the FGB concept proves to be beneficial in terms of system design, in particular for combined air-conditioning and heat pumping applications. An experimental comparison to a conventional DX-system reveals that FGB increases the cooling capacity and COP at the same time by up to 9 and 7%, respectively. Even larger improvements are possible in case a variable speed compressor is utilized to match the performance of the conventional DX-system. A simulation model helps to separate the individual improvement mechanisms. It was found that the reduction of refrigerant-side pressure drop is the dominant improvement mechanism of FGB.

Experimental investigation on the performance of the refrigeration cycle using a two-phase ejector as an expansion device

In the present study, new experimental data on the performance of a never before seen two-phase ejector refrigeration cycle (TPERC) is presented. In this cycle, a two-phase ejector is used as an expansion device. The TPERC enables the evaporator to operate as in a liquid-recirculation system. The results are compared with those of the conventional refrigeration cycle (CRC). The effects of external parameters, i.e., heat sink and heat source temperatures on the system performance are discussed. The results show that the coefficient of performance of the TPERC is higher than that of the CRC over the whole range of experimental conditions. This is due to a higher refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficient in the evaporator, resulting from the higher refrigerant mass flow rate passing through the evaporator. However, the increase becomes relatively smaller as the heat sink temperature increases.

Effects of synthetic oil in a compression refrigeration system using R410A. Part II: quality of heat transfer and pressure losses within the heat exchangers

The consequences of the oil rejected by the compressor of a vapour-compression refrigeration system on the operation of the evaporator and condenser are analysed. The modelled prototype uses the mixture of HFC R410A and a synthetic polyolester (POE) oil. The rise of the amount of lubricant circulating in the system leads to a progressive change in the behaviour of the mixture of refrigerant and oil that, for the higher oil mass fraction, evolves like a zeotropic mixture. One also observes that the presence of lubricant is generally associated with a fall of the performances of the heat exchangers, except however in the evaporator where an optimum is observed when the quantity of oil is equal to 0.1% of the total mass of the mixture. Some conclusions are drawn about the choice of correlations for the calculation of the refrigerant side heat transfer coefficient in a plate evaporator.

Thermal and hydraulic analysis of a brazed aluminum evaporator

This paper presents an analytical/computer model to predict the performance of a brazed aluminum evaporator operating under dehumidifying conditions. The evaporator uses small hydraulic diameter, flat multi-channel tubes and louver fins. The in-tube refrigerant flow was divided into three regions including the two-phase, liquid deficient and superheat regions. For each region, correlations were selected from the open literature to calculate the local heat transfer and pressure drop. The effects of refrigerant pressure drop along tube and pressure losses at the tube entrance and exit were accounted for in the heat transfer calculations. The air-side fins were assumed to operate at the fully wet condition and the sensible heat transfer coefficient of the wet fins was assumed to be equal to that of the dry fins. The overall heat transfer coefficient was calculated using the enthalpy driving potential method. The total heat transfer rate and refrigerant pressure drop depend on the ratio of the number of tubes in the first and second passes. Parametric studies were done to illustrate selection of the preferred number of tubes per pass. The average refrigerant side heat transfer coefficient is sensitive to the dry-out vapor quality. However, the total heat transfer rate is relatively insensitive to the dry-out vapor quality. As the air inlet humidity increases, the latent and total heat transfer rates increase, but the sensible heat transfer rate decreases. The program was used to design an R-404A evaporator, for which a prototype was built and tested. The program over-predicted the evaporator capacity by 8%. The over-prediction is believed due to flow mal-distribution in the branch tubes.

Condensation of R134a flowing inside helicoidal pipe

Condensing heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of an ozone-friendly refrigerant HFC-134a (hydrofluorocarbon 134a) flowing inside a 12.7 mm helicoidal tube were investigated experimentally to obtain heat transfer data and correlations. For long helicoidal pipe, heat transfer measurements were performed for the refrigerant flow mass fluxes from 100 to 400 kg/m 2/s, in the cooling water flow Reynolds number range of 1500<Re w <9000 at fixed system temperature (33°C) and cooling tube wall temperature (12°C and 22°C). With the increase of mass flux, the overall condensing heat transfer coefficients of R134a increased, and slowly the pressure drops also increased. However, with the increase of mass flux (or the cooling water flow Reynolds number), the refrigerant side heat transfer coefficients decreased. The effects of cooling wall temperature on heat transfer coefficients and system pressure drops were considered. Predictive correlations valid over the above water flow Reynolds number ranges and refrigerant flow mass flux were proposed. Helicoidal pipe heat transfer characteristics were compared with data for horizontal straight pipe from literature reports.

Development of compact heat exchangers for CO 2 air-conditioning systems

Compact and lightweight heat exchangers are needed for motor vehicle air-conditioning systems and for several types of unitary equipment. The high-pressure natural refrigerant CO 2 is now being evaluated for use in such applications, and efficient heat exchangers are being developed and investigated. Carbon dioxide heat exchangers are designed for high refrigerant mass flux and use small-diameter tubes or extruded flat microchannel tubes. Refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficients are higher than with fluorocarbons, and reduced internal surface areas can therefore be tolerated. Both small-diameter mechanically expanded round-tube heat exchangers and brazed microchannel-type units have been built and tested successfully. Results show that compact heat exchangers optimized for CO 2 are very competitive with baseline HFC/HCFC units in terms of physical dimensions, exchanger mass and thermal performance. Smaller tube and manifold dimensions can give reduced size compared with HFC-134a equipment. The temperature approach between air inlet and refrigerant outlet is much lower in CO 2 gas coolers than in baseline system condensers of equal size and capacity, and the reduced refrigerant exit temperature has a marked influence on the coefficient of performance, Microchannel heat exchangers give the best overall efficiency. Refrigerant distribution in multiport manifolds and heat transfer tubes does not seem to be a problem.

Full-Core Test Method for Experimental Determination of Convective Boiling Heat Transfer Coefficients in Tubes of Crossflow Compact Evaporators

An experimental methodology is proposed in which localized convective boiling heat transfer coefficients inside the tubes of compact evaporators are determined by testing of full evaporator cores. The proposed technique makes use of a special test system having two main flow circuits. One of these flow loops is a conventional vapor compression system, which provides a steady, low-quality, two-phase flow of refrigerant to the tube side of the evaporator. The second primary flow loop provides a steady flow of the vapor of a second working fluid, which condenses on the finned side of the evaporator. Measured data from this system are analyzed using an iterative scheme. Trends in the variation of the refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficient determined by this method throughout a typical evaporator core are described, and the differences and similarities relative to previously published results for single round tubes are discussed.