Universal approach to predicting two-phase frictional pressure drop for adiabatic and condensing mini/micro-channel flows

2012 ◽  
Vol 55 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 3246-3261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sung-Min Kim ◽  
Issam Mudawar
Author(s):  
Akimaro Kawahara ◽  
Michio Sadatomi ◽  
Shinichi Miyagawa ◽  
Mohamed H. Mansour

In this paper, single-phase liquid and two-phase gas-liquid pressure drop data through 180° return bends have been obtained for horizontal rectangular micro-channel and mini-channel. To investigate the size effects of the test channels, the hydraulic diameters were 0.25 mm and 3 mm respectively as the micro-channel and the mini-channel. The curvature radii of the bends were 0.500 mm and 0.875 mm for the micro-channel, while 6 mm for the mini-channel. To know liquid properties effects, distilled water, surfactant and glycerin aqueous solutions, ethanol and HFE (hydrofluoroether)-7200 were used as the test liquid, while nitrogen gas and air as the test gas. Pressure distributions upstream and downstream tangents of the bend were measured for the single-phase and the two-phase flows. From the pressure distribution data, the bend pressure loss was determined. By analyzing the present data, the bend loss coefficient for single-phase flow in both micro- and mini-channels could be correlated with Dean number. On the other side, the total bend pressure loss for two-phase flows were correlated by using an approach of Padilla et al., in which the total pressure loss is the sum of two pressure drop components, i.e., frictional pressure drop and singular pressure drop. The approach was found to be applicable to the present data for the micro- and the mini-channels if the frictional pressure drop was calculated by Lockhart-Martinelli method with Mishima & Hibiki’s correlation and Kawahara et al.’s correlation and the singular pressure drop was calculated by a newly developed empirical correlation.


Author(s):  
Tae-Woo Lim ◽  
Sam-Sang You ◽  
Jong-Su Kim ◽  
Serng-Bae Moon ◽  
Dong-Hoan Seo

This paper deals with an experimental investigation to measure the frictional pressure drops for two-phase flow boiling in a micro-channel with a hydraulic diameter of 500 µm. First, the experimental study is performed under the test conditions: heat fluxes ranging from 100 to 400 kW/m2, vapor qualities from 0 to 0.2, and mass fluxes of 200, 400 and 600 kg/m2s. Then, the frictional pressure drop during flow boiling is estimated using two models: the homogeneous model and the separated flow model. The experimental results show that the two-phase multiplier decreases with the increase of mass flux. In addition, the measured pressure drops are compared with those from a few correlation models available for macro-scales and mini/micro-scales. Finally, the present paper proposes a new correlation for two-phase frictional pressure drops in mini/micro-scales. This correlation model is developed based on the Chisholm constant C as a function of two-phase Reynolds and Weber numbers. It is found that the new correlation satisfactorily predicts the experimental data within mean absolute error (MAE) of 3.9%.


Author(s):  
Weilin Qu ◽  
Seok-Mann Yoon ◽  
Issam Mudawar

Knowledge of flow pattern and flow pattern transitions is essential to the development of reliable predictive tools for pressure drop and heat transfer in two-phase micro-channel heat sinks. In the present study, experiments were conducted with adiabatic nitrogen-water two-phase flow in a rectangular micro-channel having a 0.406 × 2.032 mm cross-section. Superficial velocities of nitrogen and water ranged from 0.08 to 81.92 m/s and 0.04 to 10.24 m/s, respectively. Flow patterns were first identified using high-speed video imaging, and still photos were then taken for representative patterns. Results reveal that the dominant flow patterns are slug and annular, with bubbly flow occurring only occasionally; stratified and churn flow were never observed. A flow pattern map was constructed and compared with previous maps and predictions of flow pattern transition models. Annual flow is identified as the dominant flow pattern for conditions relevant to two-phase micro-channel heat sinks, and forms the basis for development of a theoretical model for both pressure drop and heat transfer in micro-channels. Features unique to two-phase micro-channel flow, such as laminar liquid and gas flows, smooth liquid-gas interface, and strong entrainment and deposition effects are incorporated into the model. The model shows good agreement with experimental data for water-cooled heat sinks.


Author(s):  
Licheng Sun ◽  
Kaichiro Mishima

2092 data of two-phase flow pressure drop were collected from 18 published papers of which the working fluids include R123, R134a, R22, R236ea, R245fa, R404a, R407C, R410a, R507, CO2, water and air. The hydraulic diameter ranges from 0.506 to 12mm; Relo from 10 to 37000, and Rego from 3 to 4×105. 11 correlations and models for calculating the two-phase frictional pressure drop were evaluated based upon these data. The results show that the accuracy of the Lockhart-Martinelli method, Mishima and Hibiki correlation, Zhang and Mishima correlation and Lee and Mudawar correalion in the laminar region is very close to each other, while the Muller-Steinhagen and Heck correlation is the best among the evaluated correlations in the turbulent region. A modified Chisholm correlation was proposed, which is better than all of the evaluated correlations in the turbulent region and its mean relative error is about 29%. For refrigerants only, the new correlation and Muller-Steinhagen and Heck correlation are very close to each other and give better agreement than the other evaluated correlations.


Author(s):  
Hideo Ide ◽  
Eiji Kinoshita ◽  
Ryo Kuroshima ◽  
Takeshi Ohtaka ◽  
Yuichi Shibata ◽  
...  

Gas-liquid two-phase flows in minichannels and microchannels display a unique flow pattern called ring film flow, in which stable waves of relatively large amplitudes appear at seemingly regular intervals and propagate in the flow direction. In the present work, the velocity characteristics of gas slugs, ring films, and their features such as the gas slug length, flow phenomena and frictional pressure drop for nitrogen-distilled water and nitrogen-30 wt% ethanol water solution have been investigated experimentally. Four kinds of circular microchannels with diameters of 100 μm, 150 μm, 250 μm and 518 μm were used. The effects of tube diameter and physical properties, especially the surface tension and liquid viscosity, on the flow patterns, gas slug length and the two-phase frictional pressure drop have been investigated by using a high speed camera at 6,000 frames per second. The flow characteristics of gas slugs, liquid slugs and the waves of ring film are presented in this paper.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document