Effects of Pitch and Depth on the Condensation Heat Transfer of R-134a Flowing Through Corrugated Tubes

Author(s):  
Suriyan Laohalertdecha ◽  
Somchai Wongwises

The effects of pitch and depth on the condensation heat transfer of R-134a flowing inside corrugated tubes are experimentally investigated. The test section is a horizontal tube-in-tube heat exchanger. The refrigerant flows in the inner tube and the water flows in the annulus. The length of heat exchanger is 2 m. A smooth tube and corrugated tubes having inner diameters of 8.7 mm are used as an inner tube. The corrugation pitches used in this study are 5.08, 6.35, and 8.46 mm. Similarly, the corrugation depths are 1, 1.25, and 1.5 mm. The effects of corrugation pitch and depth on tube wall temperature, heat transfer coefficient and frictional pressure drop are discussed. The results illustrate that the maximum heat transfer coefficient and frictional pressure drop obtained from the corrugated tube are up to 50% and 70% higher than those obtained from the smooth tube, respectively.

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.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 952 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weiyu Tang ◽  
David John Kukulka ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Rick Smith

An experimental study was carried out to explore the heat transfer characteristics on the outside of smooth and enhanced tubes, during evaporation and condensation of R134A in the annulus of a tube-in-tube heat exchanger. The three-dimensional enhanced surface tube consisted of primary enhancement patterns and secondary patterns; results were compared to the performance of an equivalent smooth tube. The equivalent external diameter of the inside horizontal copper tubes used in this study was 19.05 mm, while the outer tube varied in size, allowing a comparison of heat transfer for different annulus dimensions. Tests were conducted with a fixed inlet/outlet vapor quality and a constant saturation temperature for varied mass velocities in the range of 30 to 100 kg/(m2∙s). For condensation, the ratio of heat transfer coefficient enhancement (enhanced tube/ smooth tube) was up to 1.78; this can be attributed to the turbulence increase, as well as liquid film re-distribution, produced from the dimples. Furthermore, the condensation heat transfer coefficient increased rapidly with increasing mass flux. For flow boiling in the annulus between the 1EHT tube and outer tube, the heat transfer coefficient during boiling was 11–36% higher when compared to the smooth tube at xave = 0.35, while the performance of the 1EHT tube was not as good as the smooth tube at xave = 0.5. The heat transfer deterioration can be explained by decreased effective nucleate flow boiling heat transfer area and the flow pattern transition between a slug/wavy-stratified flow to wavy-stratified flow.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 2267 ◽  
Author(s):  
Norihiro Inoue ◽  
Masataka Hirose ◽  
Daisuke Jige ◽  
Junya Ichinose

In this study, the condensation heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop characteristics of a 4 mm outside diameter smooth tube, using R32, R152a, R410A, and R1234ze(E) refrigerants, were examined. Condensation heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops were measured at a saturation temperature of 35 °C, in the region of mass velocities from 100 to 400 kg m−2s−1. The frictional pressure drop, and the condensation heat transfer from the new measurements, using R1234ze(E) as a refrigerant, were compared with those of R32, R152a, and R410A, in the smooth tube. Experimental values of condensation heat transfer coefficient of smooth tube were also compared to the predicted values obtained using the previously established correlations. The previous correlation from Cavallini et al., for the condensation heat transfer coefficient of small-diameter smooth tube, was estimated to be within ±30%. However, the general correlation, which can be easily predicted, for condensation heat transfer inside small-diameter smooth tubes, was suggested, and the relationship of the general correlation was compared with data for R1234ze(E) obtained by us, and R404A and R290 obtained by other researchers.


Author(s):  
Yu Guo ◽  
Zong-bao Gu ◽  
Zahid Ayub ◽  
Wei Li ◽  
Xiang Ma ◽  
...  

Abstract In this paper, the condensation heat transfer characteristics of R134a inside enhanced tubes using two type of surface structures with different materials was investigated, which were then compared with plain tubes under the same test conditions. The enhanced tubes were: 1EHTa tube with dimpled and petal arrays structure and 1EHTb tube with protrusion and similar petal arrays structure. The experiment was conducted for a mass flux ranging from 100 to 200 kg m−2 s−1 with saturation temperature of 318 K. The inlet and outlet vapor qualities were fixed at 0.8 and 0.2, respectively. The test tubes had the same outer diameter of 12.7 mm. Results showed that the dimpled and protruded surface tubes enhanced the convection condensation heat transfer and the heat transfer coefficient was 1.4 to 1.6 times higher than that of the smooth tube. Heat transfer enhancement of the 1EHTa and 1EHTb tube was mainly due to the complex roughness surface structures that created swirling and increased the interface turbulence. Enhanced tubes exhibited higher performance factors compared to the smooth tube. The average performance factor was 1.3–1.5. As the flow rate increases, there is no significant increase in the condensation heat transfer coefficient. The pressure drop penalty increased with mass flux. Compared with smooth tube, the pressure drop penalty of enhanced tube was larger.


2020 ◽  
Vol 142 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Li ◽  
Yu Guo ◽  
Zong-Bao Gu ◽  
Xiang Ma ◽  
Zahid Ayub ◽  
...  

Abstract In this paper, the condensation heat transfer characteristics of R134a inside enhanced tubes using two types of surface structures with different materials were investigated, which were then compared with plain tubes under the same test conditions. The enhanced tubes were: 1EHTa tube with dimpled and petal arrays structure and 1EHTb tube with protrusion and similar petal arrays structure. The experiment was conducted for a mass flux ranging from 100 to 200 kg m−2 s−1 with saturation temperature of 318.15 K. The inlet and outlet vapor qualities were fixed at 0.8 and 0.2, respectively. The test tubes had the same outer diameter of 12.7 mm. Results showed that the dimpled and protruded surface tubes enhanced the convection condensation heat transfer and the heat transfer coefficient was 1.4–1.6 times higher than that of the smooth tube. Heat transfer enhancement of the 1EHTa and 1EHTb tube was mainly due to the complex roughness surface structures that created swirling and increased the interface turbulence. The condensation heat transfer coefficient increased slightly with increasing mass flux. The pressure drop penalty was found to increase as mass flux increased. Compared with the smooth tube, the pressure drop of Cu-1EHTa tube, SS-1EHTa tube, and Cu-1EHTb tube were 1.15, 1.21, and 1.14 of smooth tube, respectively. Enhanced tubes exhibited higher performance factors (PFs) compared to the smooth tube. The average PF was 1.3–1.5. A new correlation of heat transfer coefficient has been developed within ±15% error band.


Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (21) ◽  
pp. 4138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Sun ◽  
Xinting Wang ◽  
Rui Long ◽  
Fang Yuan ◽  
Kun Yang

In this work, a shell and tube heat exchanger with inclined trefoil-hole baffles (STHX-IT) is proposed, and the numerical simulation is conducted to investigate the flow and heat transfer characteristics. A shell and tube heat exchanger with segmental baffles (STHX-SG) is also studied for the performance comparison. The results show that the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop of the STHX-IT is averagely lower by 23.89% and 44.19% than those of the STHX-SG, but the heat transfer coefficient per pressure drop is higher by 36.38% on average. Further, the parametric studies of the inclination angle θ, trefoil-hole number n, and baffle cut δ are carried out for the STHX-IT. According to the numerical results, n and δ have more notable influence on shell side performance than θ. In detail, the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop decrease slightly with θ increasing, and the overall performance is approximately equal; both the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop decrease with the respective rising of n and δ, but the comprehensive performance shows a growing trend. Considering the synthetic effects of structural parameters, the multi-objective structure optimization using the genetic algorithm combined with the artificial neural networks is fulfilled. As a result, the Pareto front is obtained to characterize the behaviors of the maximum heat transfer rate and minimum pressure drop. The STHX-IT with the θ = 5.38°, n = 6, and δ = 43% is decided as the optimal solution by the TOPSIS method, whose Q/Δp is 2.34 times as much as that of the original STHX-SG.


2008 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Emila Djordjević ◽  
Stephan Kabelac ◽  
Slobodan Šerbanović

AbstractThe condensation heat transfer coefficient and the two-phase pressure drop of refrigerant R-134a in a vertical plate heat exchanger were investigated experimentally. The area of the plate was divided into several segments along the vertical axis. For each of the segments, local values of the heat transfer coefficient and frictional pressure drop were calculated and presented as a function of the mean vapor quality in the segment. Owing to the thermocouples installed along the plate surface, it was possible to determine the temperature distribution and vapor quality profile inside the plate. The influences of the mass flux and the heat flux on the heat transfer coefficient and the pressure drop were also taken into account and a comparison with previously published experimental data and literature correlations was carried out.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Swanand Gaikwad ◽  
Ashish Parmar

AbstractHeat exchangers possess a significant role in energy transmission and energy generation in most industries. In this work, a three-dimensional simulation has been carried out of a shell and tube heat exchanger (STHX) consisting of segmental baffles. The investigation involves using the commercial code of ANSYS CFX, which incorporates the modeling, meshing, and usage of the Finite Element Method to yield numerical results. Much work is available in the literature regarding the effect of baffle cut and baffle spacing as two different entities, but some uncertainty pertains when we discuss the combination of these two parameters. This study aims to find an appropriate mix of baffle cut and baffle spacing for the efficient functioning of a shell and tube heat exchanger. Two parameters are tested: the baffle cuts at 30, 35, 40% of the shell-inside diameter, and the baffle spacing’s to fit 6,8,10 baffles within the heat exchanger. The numerical results showed the role of the studied parameters on the shell side heat transfer coefficient and the pressure drop in the shell and tube heat exchanger. The investigation shows an increase in the shell side heat transfer coefficient of 13.13% when going from 6 to 8 baffle configuration and a 23.10% acclivity for the change of six baffles to 10, for a specific baffle cut. Evidence also shows a rise in the pressure drop with an increase in the baffle spacing from the ranges of 44–46.79%, which can be controlled by managing the baffle cut provided.


2013 ◽  
Vol 832 ◽  
pp. 160-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Alam Khairul ◽  
Rahman Saidur ◽  
Altab Hossain ◽  
Mohammad Abdul Alim ◽  
Islam Mohammed Mahbubul

Helically coiled heat exchangers are globally used in various industrial applications for their high heat transfer performance and compact size. Nanofluids can provide excellent thermal performance of this type of heat exchangers. In the present study, the effect of different nanofluids on the heat transfer performance in a helically coiled heat exchanger is examined. Four different types of nanofluids CuO/water, Al2O3/water, SiO2/water, and ZnO/water with volume fractions 1 vol.% to 4 vol.% was used throughout this analysis and volume flow rate was remained constant at 3 LPM. Results show that the heat transfer coefficient is high for higher particle volume concentration of CuO/water, Al2O3/water and ZnO/water nanofluids, while the values of the friction factor and pressure drop significantly increase with the increase of nanoparticle volume concentration. On the contrary, low heat transfer coefficient was found in higher concentration of SiO2/water nanofluids. The highest enhancement of heat transfer coefficient and lowest friction factor occurred for CuO/water nanofluids among the four nanofluids. However, highest friction factor and lowest heat transfer coefficient were found for SiO2/water nanofluids. The results reveal that, CuO/water nanofluids indicate significant heat transfer performance for helically coiled heat exchanger systems though this nanofluids exhibits higher pressure drop.


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