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Condensation heat transfer and pressure drop of R-410A in flat aluminum multi-port tubes

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Abstract

Brazed heat exchangers with aluminum flat multi-port tubes are being used as condensers of residential air-conditioners. In this study, R-410A condensation tests were conducted in four multi-port tubes having a range of hydraulic diameter (0.78 ≤ Dh ≤ 0.95 mm). The test range covered the mass flux from 100 to 400 kg/m2 s and the heat flux at 3 kW/m2, which are typical operating conditions of residential air conditioners. Results showed that both the heat transfer coefficient and the pressure drop increased as the hydraulic diameter decreased. The effect of hydraulic diameter on condensation heat transfer was much larger than the predictions of existing correlations for the range of investigation. Comparison of the data with the correlations showed that some macro-channel tube correlations and mini-channel tube correlations reasonably predicted the heat transfer coefficient. However, macro-channel correlations highly overpredicted the pressure drop data.

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Abbreviations

A :

heat transfer area, mm2

A c :

cross-sectional flow area, mm2

A i :

total internal surface area, mm2

b :

thickness of the flat tube, mm

c p :

specific heat, J/kg K

D h :

hydraulic diameter, mm

G :

mass flux, kg/m2s

h :

heat transfer coefficient, W/m2K

i fg :

latent heat of vaporization, J/kg

k :

thermal conductivity, W/mK

L :

length of the test section, mm

m :

mass flow rate, kg/s

N :

number of ports in a multi-port tube

P :

pressure, N/m2

P w :

wetted perimeter, mm

q :

heat flux, W/m2

Q :

heat transfer rate, W

R :

variable

T :

temperature, K

t :

tube wall thickness, mm

U :

overall heat transfer coefficient, W/m2K

v :

specific volume, m3/kg

w :

width of the flat tube, mm or uncertainty of the vaiable

x :

vapor quality or measured variable

z :

coordinate parallel to the flow, mm

a:

acceleration

ave:

average

corr:

correlation

exp:

experimental

i:

tube-side

in:

inlet

f:

liquid, friction

g:

gas, gravitation

lm:

log mean

m:

mean

o:

annular-side

out:

outlet

p:

pre-heater

pred:

predicted

r:

refrigerant

sat:

saturation

w:

water

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Incheon National University Research Grant in 2015.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Incheon National University, 12-1, Songdo-Dong, Yeonsu-Gu, Incheon, 406-772, Republic of Korea

    Nae-Hyun Kim

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  1. Nae-Hyun Kim
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Correspondence to Nae-Hyun Kim.

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Kim, NH. Condensation heat transfer and pressure drop of R-410A in flat aluminum multi-port tubes. Heat Mass Transfer 54, 523–535 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-017-2157-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-017-2157-6

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