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Condensation heat transfer and pressure drop of R-134a saturated vapour inside a brazed compact plate fin heat exchanger with serrated fin

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Abstract

This paper presents the experimental heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop measured during R-134a saturated vapour condensation inside a small brazed compact plate fin heat exchanger with serrated fin surface. The effects of saturation temperature (pressure), refrigerant mass flux, refrigerant heat flux, effect of fin surface characteristics and fluid properties are investigated. The average condensation heat transfer coefficients and frictional pressure drops were determined experimentally for refrigerant R-134a at five different saturated temperatures (34, 38, 40, 42 and 44 °C). A transition point between gravity controlled and forced convection condensation has been found for a refrigerant mass flux around 22 kg/m2s. In the forced convection condensation region, the heat transfer coefficients show a three times increase and 1.5 times increase in frictional pressure drop for a doubling of the refrigerant mass flux. The heat transfer coefficients show weak sensitivity to saturation temperature (Pressure) and great sensitivity to refrigerant mass flux and fluid properties. The frictional pressure drop shows a linear dependence on the kinetic energy per unit volume of the refrigerant flow. Correlations are provided for the measured heat transfer coefficients and frictional pressure drops.

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Abbreviations

A:

Heat transfer area (m2)

a:

Ratio of fin area to total area

Af :

Free flow area (m2)

CFD:

Computational fluid dynamics

Cp :

Specific heat capacity (J kg−1 K−1)

DM:

De-mineralized

Dh :

Hydraulic diameter (m)

FPI:

Fins per inch

f :

Fanning friction factor

G:

Mass flux (kg m−2 s−1)

g:

Acceleration due to gravity (m s−2)

H:

Specific Enthalpy (J kg−1)

h:

Heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1),

Fin height (m)

hp:

Horse power

j :

Colburn factor

KE:

Kinetic energy (J)

l:

Serration length (m)

L:

Flow length (m)

m :

Mass flow rate (kg s−1)

Nu:

Nusselt number (hDh/k), dimensionless

P :

Pressure (Pa)

Pr:

Prandtl number (μCp k−1), dimensionless

Q :

Heat load (kW)

q :

Heat flux (kW m−2)

Re :

Reynolds number

s :

Fin spacing (m)

SCADA:

Supervisory controller and data acquisition system

T :

Temperature (°C)

t:

Fin thickness (m)

U:

Overall heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

V:

Velocity (m s−1), volume (m3)

x:

Vapor quality of refrigerant

∆:

Difference

λ:

Thermal conductivity (W m−1 K−1)

µ:

Dynamic viscosity (Ns m−2)

υ:

Specific volume (m3 kg−1)

ρ :

Density (kg m−3)

η f :

Fin efficiency

η o :

Overall surface efficiency

a:

Momentum

ave:

Average

c:

Manifold and ports

eq:

Equivalent

f:

Fin, frictional

g:

Gravity

i:

Inlet

l, L :

Liquid

o:

Overall

p:

Plate

r:

Refrigerant

rsat:

Refrigerant saturation

t:

Total

w:

Water

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Acknowledgments

The Authors wish to acknowledge Aeronautical Development Agency for allowing publication of the paper. Authors appreciated for support of National Aerospace Laboratories for conducting experiments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Aeronautical Development Agency, P B No. 1718, Vimanpura Post, Bengaluru, 560017, India

    K. V. Ramana Murthy & C. Ranganayakulu

  2. Mechanical Engineering Department, National Institute of Technology Karnataka (NITK), Surathkal, Mangaluru, India

    T. P. Ashok Babu

Authors
  1. K. V. Ramana Murthy
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  2. C. Ranganayakulu
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  3. T. P. Ashok Babu
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Correspondence to K. V. Ramana Murthy.

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Ramana Murthy, K.V., Ranganayakulu, C. & Ashok Babu, T.P. Condensation heat transfer and pressure drop of R-134a saturated vapour inside a brazed compact plate fin heat exchanger with serrated fin. Heat Mass Transfer 53, 331–341 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-016-1827-0

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