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Visualization of R1234yf, R1233zd(E), and R1336mzz(Z) flow in microchannel tube with emphasis on the velocity of vapor plugs

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Abstract

Visualization of the two-phase flow in micro-scale helps to reveal the thermophysical behavior of the fluids. This paper presents and discusses the flow patterns of two-phase R1234yf, R1233zd(E), and R1336mzz(Z) in a 0.643 mm microchannel tube. The condition covers mass flux from about 25 to 250 kg-m−2 s−1. The inlet saturation temperature is 30 °C for R1234yf and R1233zd(E), and 40–60 °C for R1336mzz(Z). As vapor quality increases, the flow is firstly in plug/slug flow, then transitional flow, and finally annular flow at high quality. When mass flux is 50 kg-m−2 s−1, no transitional flow is observed. The annular flow starts at high quality. The transitional flow in the low mass flux was absent. When mass flux is 100 kg-m−2 s−1, the transitional flow covers quality from 0.8 to 0.9. The superficial velocities follow a power function for flow pattern transitioning. The velocity is measured by a video processing method proposed in this paper. The vapor plug velocity is calculated by measuring the velocity of the vapor plug head in the frames and corrected by the video information (frame per second and meter per pixel). The velocity is slightly higher than the velocity calculated based on the homogeneous assumption when it is higher than 1 m-s−1. A new correlation for predicting the vapor plug velocity is proposed. The new correlation has a small MAE (5.42%) compared to the results and can be used for Capillary number less than 0.14.

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Abbreviations

B:

Brightness-

BD:

Brightness difference-

Bo:

Boiling number-

Co:

Confinement number-

D:

Diameterm

DP:

Differential PressurekPa

fps:

Frame per seconds−1

Fr:

Froude number-

G:

Mass fluxkg-m−2 s−1

h:

Specific enthalpykJ kg-1

I:

Pixel intensity (0–255)-

J:

Superficial velocitym-s−1

k:

Thermal conductivityW m−1 K−1

L:

Lengthm

m:

Mass flow ratekg s−1

M:

Threshold multiplier-

mpp:

Meter per pixelm

P:

PressurekPa

Re:

Reynolds number-

T:

TemperatureK

t:

Timems

U:

Velocitym-s−1

W:

Rewritten Weber number-

We:

Weber number-

x:

Vapor quality

\(\alpha\) :

Void fraction-

\(\delta f\) :

Difference in frame-

ε:

Uncertainty-

κ:

The ratio of impulse force to surface tension-

μ:

Dynamic viscositykg m−1 s−1

ρ:

Densitykg m−3

σ:

Surface tensionN m−1

h:

Hydraulic

in:

Inlet

l:

Liquid phase

lv:

Liquid to vapor phase

tp:

Two-phase

v:

Vapor phase

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Acknowledgements

This paper is a result of a project that was financially supported by the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center at the University of Illinois and its 30 member companies. CTS (Creative Thermal Solutions Inc.) provided the material, instrumentation, and previous 3 m long facility as a basis for the new, improved facility used to get presented data. The authors also acknowledge the support of Honeywell in providing the refrigerant R1234yf.

Funding

This paper is a result of a project that was financially supported by the Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center at the University of Illinois and its 30 member companies. CTS (Creative Thermal Solutions Inc.) provided the material, instrumentation, and previous 3 m long facility as a basis for the new, improved facility used to get presented data. The authors also acknowledge the support of Honeywell in providing the refrigerant R1234yf.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Civil Engineering, Hunan University, Changsha, 410082, China

    Houpei Li

  2. Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Center, Department of Mechanical Engineering, the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, 1206 West Green Street, Urbana, IL, 61801, USA

    Houpei Li & Pega Hrnjak

  3. Willow Rd, CTS, Urbana, IL, 2209, USA

    Pega Hrnjak

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  1. Houpei Li
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Correspondence to Pega Hrnjak.

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Li, H., Hrnjak, P. Visualization of R1234yf, R1233zd(E), and R1336mzz(Z) flow in microchannel tube with emphasis on the velocity of vapor plugs. Heat Mass Transfer 58, 1573–1589 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-022-03204-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-022-03204-3

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