A Critical Review on Condensation Heat Transfer in Microchannels and Minichannels

Author(s):  
M. M. Awad ◽  
A. S. Dalkiliç ◽  
S. Wongwises

Condensation in microchannels and minichannels is widely used in small devices such as air-cooled condensers for the air-conditioning and automotive industry, in heat pipes, thermosyphons and other applications for system thermal control. Currently, many research centers all over the world are dealing with the structure and operation of compact refrigerating devices. This is in line with the trend of 21st century that is moving towards the use of energy-saving and environmentally friendly technical equipment. In the present study, a critical review on condensation heat transfer in microchannels and minichannels is presented. This review include a wide range of different parameters such as the channel diameter (d), the saturation temperature (Ts), the mass flux (G), the vapor quality (x), different working fluids like steam, CO2 or R744, FC72, R22, R410A, and R407C, various shapes such as circular and noncircular, different orientations like horizontal and vertical, and systems consist of either single or multiple channels. At the end, recommendations for future studies will be given. As a result, this paper cannot only be used as the starting point for the researcher interested in condensation heat transfer in microchannels and minichannels, but it also includes recommendations for future studies on condensation heat transfer in microchannels and minichannels.

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. H. M. Grooten ◽  
C. W. M. van der Geld

When traditional air-to-air cooling is too voluminous, heat exchangers with long thermosyphons offer a good alternative. Experiments with a single thermosyphon with a large length-to-diameter ratio (188) and filled with R-134a are presented and analyzed. Saturation temperatures, filling ratios, and angles of inclination have been varied in wide ranges. A higher sensitivity of evaporation heat transfer coefficients on reduced pressure than in previous work has been found. Measurements revealed the effect of pressure or the saturation temperature on condensation heat transfer. The condensate film Reynolds number that marks a transition from one condensation heat transfer regime to another is found to depend on pressure. This effect was not accounted for by correlations from the literature. New correlations are presented to predict condensation and evaporation heat transfer rates.


Author(s):  
A. O¨zer Arnas ◽  
Daisie D. Boettner ◽  
Michael J. Benson ◽  
Bret P. Van Poppel

The topic of condensation heat transfer is usually included in a chapter on Boiling and Condensation in most Heat Transfer textbooks. The assumptions made are those of laminar liquid film with constant thermo-physical properties, uniform vapor temperature equal to the saturation temperature of the vapor, negligible shear at the liquid-vapor interface, and negligible momentum and energy transfer by advection in the condensate film. The results presented are normally for the film thickness, the local convective heat transfer coefficient, and the Nusselt number. However, no means are presented to the student to determine if all of these simplifying assumptions are actually satisfied for a given problem. This investigation clarifies these points to improve teaching of the material and understanding by the student at the undergraduate and graduate level.


2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (03) ◽  
pp. 1750027 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Mostaqur Rahman ◽  
Keishi Kariya ◽  
Akio Miyara

Experiments on condensation heat transfer and adiabatic pressure drop characteristics of R134a were performed inside smooth and microfin horizontal tubes. The tests were conducted in the mass flux range of 50[Formula: see text]kg/m2s to 200[Formula: see text]kg/m2s, vapor quality range of 0 to 1 and saturation temperature range of 20[Formula: see text]C to 35[Formula: see text]C. The effects of mass velocity, vapor quality, saturation temperature, and microfin on the condensation heat transfer and frictional pressure drop were analyzed. It was discovered that the local heat transfer coefficients and frictional pressure drop increases with increasing mass flux and vapor quality and decreasing with increasing saturation temperature. Higher heat transfer coefficient and frictional pressure drop in microfin tube were observed. The present experimental data were compared with the existing well-known condensation heat transfer and frictional pressure drop models available in the open literature. The condensation heat transfer coefficient and frictional pressure drop of R134a in horizontal microfin tube was predicted within an acceptable range by the existing correlation.


2015 ◽  
Vol 23 (02) ◽  
pp. 1550014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Jige ◽  
Tomonobu Matsuno ◽  
Norihiro Inoue

The present study experimentally investigated the condensation heat transfer characteristics and condensate flow mode of R245fa on horizontal low-finned and microscopic-grooved tubes. Five low-finned tubes and a microscopic-grooved tube with tube diameters at the fin tip of approximately 19 mm were used. Experiments were conducted at a saturation temperature of 40°C. The fundamental heat transfer characteristics of the low-finned and microscopic-grooved tubes were experimentally investigated to clarify the flow modes of the condensate and the efficacy of the enhanced heat transfer.


2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Yu ◽  
C. X. Lin ◽  
M. A. Ebadian ◽  
R. C. Prattipati

This paper presents an experimental investigation of condensation heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of refrigerant R-134a flowing through an annular helicoidal passage with the hydraulic diameter of 8.5 mm. The angles of helix axis are oriented at 0, 45, 90 degrees to gravity. The overall and refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops are experimentally determined at saturation temperature 35°C, refrigerant mass flux 35–180 kg/s·m2, and cooling water temperature 27°C. The results show that orientation has significant influence on the thermal and hydraulic behaviors of the helical pipe. The results can be employed for reference in the effective design of annular helicoidal heat exchangers with R-134a as the working fluid.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (06) ◽  
pp. 115-126
Author(s):  
Mohammed Ghazi M. Kamil ◽  
◽  
Muna Sabah Kassim ◽  
Louay Abd Alazez Mahdi ◽  
◽  
...  

The heat transfer coefficient of steam condensation has a significant role in the performance of air-cooled heat exchangers. The purpose of this work is to predict the local/average local steam condensation heat transfer coefficient inside the horizontal flattened tube under vacuum conditions using numerous correlations that were developed by some researches which have been conducted under specified conditions. The results from these correlations have been compared with experimental data of Davies, therefore more investigate for the values are necessary to improve or/and validate the existing correlations. The effect of such parameters like the uniform heat flux and saturation temperature also have been studied on the local steam condensation heat transfer coefficient as the results show that the heat transfer coefficient decrease as the heat flux increase, while it increases as the steam saturated temperature increase.


Author(s):  
Xiao-peng Zhou ◽  
David J. Kukulka ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Jian-Jun Sun ◽  
Wei Li

Heat transfer enhancement plays an important role in improving energy efficiency and developing high performance thermal systems. Phase-change heat transfer processes take place in thermal systems; typically heat transfer enhanced tubes are used in these systems and they are designed to increase heat transfer coefficients in evaporation and condensation. Enhanced heat transfer tubes are widely used in refrigeration and air-conditioning applications in order to reduce cost and create a smaller footprint of the application. Microfins, roughness and dimples are often incorporated into the inner surface of tubes in order to enhance heat transfer performance. Under many conditions, enhanced surface tubes can recover more energy and provide the opportunity to advance the design of many heat transfer products. Convective condensation heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics were investigated for R410A on the outside of: (i) a smooth tube (outer diameter 12.7 mm); (ii) an external herringbone tube (fin root diameter 12.7 mm); and (iii) the 1EHT tube (outer diameter 12.7 mm) for very low mass fluxes. Data was obtained for values of mass flux ranging from 8 to 50 kg/(m2 s); at a saturation temperature of 318 K; with an inlet quality of 0.8 (±0.05) and an outlet quality of 0.1 (±0.05). In a comparison of heat transfer at a low mass flux, both the 1EHT tube and the herringbone tube did not perform as well as the smooth tube. And it’s difficult to analyze the reason for this strange phenomenon.


Author(s):  
Xiao-peng Zhou ◽  
Jian-jun Sun ◽  
Si-pu Guo ◽  
Sun Zhichuan ◽  
Wei Li

An experimental investigation was performed for evaporation and condensation characteristics inside smooth tube, herringbone tube and EHT tube with the same outer diameter 12.7 mm, refrigerant are R22 and R410a. Mass flux are 60–140 kg/m2s, 81–178.5 kg/m2s, for evaporation and condensation respectively. The evaporation saturation temperature is 6°C, with inlet and outlet vapor qualities of 0.1 and 0.9, respectively. The condensation saturation temperature is 47°C, with inlet and outlet vapor qualities of 0.8 and 0.2, respectively. EHT tube has best evaporating performance for both R22 and R410a. Herringbone tube is also batter than smooth tube. Evaporation heat transfer coefficient increases with mass flux increasing obviously. Pressure drop of R22 evaporation in EHT tube is the highest, herringbone tube is a little higher than in smooth tube. Herringbone tube has highest condensation heat transfer coefficient, about 3 and 2.3 times that of smooth tube for R22 and R410a respectively. EHT tube has heat transfer coefficient about 2 and 1.8 times that of smooth tube for R22 and R410a respectively. Condensation heat transfer coefficient increases with increasing of mass flux, but very slowly, R410a flow in micro-fin tube even decreases with mass flux increasing.


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