Experimental Investigation of Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop for Two-Phase R134A Flow in a 1.65 mm Glass Tube

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bilgehan Tekin ◽  
Almıla G. Yazıcıog˘lu ◽  
Hu¨snu¨ Kerpic¸c¸i ◽  
Sadık Kakac¸
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Model Verification ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Flow Rates ◽  
Low Mass

Heat transfer in small scale media is a phenomenon that has been increasingly scrutinized in the past few decades. Refrigerant flow in microscale tubes and channels is a promising solution to be used in future refrigeration technology. Experimental studies are significant for the rating of the heat transfer and pressure drop in a given channel, and are important tools for optimizing applicable designs. An overview of the previous studies in this area has shown that most of the research does not focus on the low mass flow rates encountered in household refrigeration systems. In the current study, heat transfer in a copper tube with 1.65 mm inner diameter with two-phase R134a flow is experimentally investigated under low mass flow rate conditions. In the set-up constructed, instead of constant wall heat flux, which is the boundary condition mainly used in the microscale heat transfer studies in literature, constant wall temperature approach is applied. The experimental procedure is designed to focus on the temperatures and the flow rates observed during evaporation in a typical household refrigeration cycle. Since the flow is in the two-phase region, experiments for different quality values of R134a are conducted by pre-heating the refrigerant at different saturation temperatures and pressures. In microscale flow, a major problem is the increase in pressure drop compared to conventionally-sized channels, and the two-phase flow regime contributes to this increase. Therefore, in addition to the heat transfer, the pressure drop of the refrigerant along the tube is also measured. Thus, for various quality values, the pressure drop and the heat transfer for the refrigerant flow are examined. The experimental data obtained will be useful information for the two-phase flow modeling and the model verification.

Two-Phase Flow and Heat Transfer in Rectangular Micro-Channels

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weilin Qu ◽  
Seok-Mann Yoon ◽  
Issam Mudawar
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Heat Sinks ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Micro Channel ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Micro Channels

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.

Research on Two-Phase Flow Instability in Evaporator of Refrigeration System

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nan Liang ◽  
Changqing Tian ◽  
Shuangquan Shao
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Mass Flow Rate ◽  
Mass Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Density Wave ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Constant Mass ◽  
Refrigeration System ◽  
Two Phase

As one kind of fluid machinery related to the two-phase flow, the refrigeration system encounters more problems of instability. It is essential to ensure the stability of the refrigeration systems for the operation and efficiency. This paper presents the experimental investigation on the static and dynamic instability in an evaporator of refrigeration system. The static instability experiments showed that the oscillatory period and swing of the mixture-vapor transition point by observation with a camera through the transparent quartz glass tube at the outlet of the evaporator. The pressure drop versus mass flow rate curves of refrigerant two phase flow in the evaporator were obtained with a negative slope region in addition to two positive slope regions, thus making the flow rate a multi-valued function of the pressure drop. For dynamic instabilities in the evaporation process, three types of oscillations (density wave type, pressure drop type and thermal type) were observed at different mass flow rates and heat fluxes, which can be represented in the pressure drop versus mass flow rate curves. For the dynamic instabilities, density wave oscillations happen when the heat flux is high with the constant mass flow rate. Thermal oscillations happen when the heat flux is correspondingly low with constant mass flow rate. Though the refrigeration system do not have special tank, the accumulator and receiver provide enough compressible volume to induce the pressure drop oscillations. The representation and characteristic of each oscillation type were also analyzed in the paper.

A Multiobjective Parameter Study of Two-Phase Flow Channel Design

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas A. Evich ◽  
Nicholas R. Larimer ◽  
Mary I. Frecker ◽  
Matthew J. Rau
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Circular Cross Section ◽  
Parameter Study ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase ◽  
Flow And Heat Transfer ◽  
High Heat Transfer ◽  
Manufacturing Techniques

Abstract Advanced manufacturing techniques have improved dramatically in recent years and design freedom for engineered components and systems has never been greater. Despite these advancements, the majority of our design tools for thermal-fluids systems are still rooted within traditional architectures and manufacturing techniques. In particular, the complex nature of two-phase flow and heat transfer has made the development of design methods that can accommodate these complex geometries enabled by new manufacturing techniques challenging. Here, we investigate a new design method for two-phase flow systems. We conduct a multiobjective parameter study considering two-phase flow and heat transfer through a single channel with a circular cross section. To increase our design degrees of freedom, we allow the channel to increase or decrease in cross-sectional area along its flow length, but constrain the channel inlet and outlet to a constant hydraulic diameter. Maximizing heat transfer and minimizing pressure drop are the two design objectives, which we evaluate using two-phase heat transfer correlations and the Homogeneous Equilibrium Model. We find that using small expansion angles can greatly reduce two-phase flow pressure drop and also provide high heat transfer coefficients when compared to straight channel designs. We present a set of feasible designs for varying input heat fluxes, liquid mass flow rates, and channel orientation angles and show how the ideal expansion channel angle varies with these operational conditions.

Two-Phase Flow and Heat Transfer in Rectangular Micro-Channels

2004 ◽  
Vol 126 (3) ◽  
pp. 288-300 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weilin Qu ◽  
Seok-Mann Yoon ◽  
Issam Mudawar
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Flow Pattern ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Flow Boiling ◽  
Flow Patterns ◽  
Heat Sinks ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Micro Channel ◽  
Two Phase

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 0.406×2.032mm2 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 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. Features unique to two-phase micro-channel flow were identified and employed to validate key assumptions of an annular flow boiling model that was previously developed to predict pressure drop and heat transfer in two-phase micro-channel heat sinks. This earlier model was modified based on new findings from the adiabatic two-phase flow study. The modified model shows good agreement with experimental data for water-cooled heat sinks.

Pressure drop and heat transfer during two-phase flow vaporization of propane in horizontal smooth minichannels

2009 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 837-845 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kwang-Il Choi ◽  
A.S. Pamitran ◽  
Jong-Taek Oh ◽  
Kiyoshi Saito
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Two Phase Flow ◽  
Phase Flow ◽  
Two Phase
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