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Refrigerant distribution in an evaporator having a horizontal header and horizontal mini-channel tubes

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Abstract

In this study, we investigated the R-1234yf distribution from a header into mini-channel tubes located in a horizontal plane, which may be of importance for cooling of an electric vehicle battery. Especially, the focus was concentrated on the effect of number of branch tubes on the two-phase distribution. The tests were conducted for the mass flux from 49 to 147 kg/m2s and inlet quality from 0.2 to 0.8. The effect of heat exchanger inclination was also investigated. The results showed that the flow distribution worsened as the number of branch tube increased. Between the normal and the parallel inlet configuration, the normal inlet yielded a better distribution, probably due to the smaller number of branch tubes. The flow distribution was mainly governed by the balance of relating forces-momentum and gravitational. Thus, a poor distribution was obtained for a tilted case, where the momentum and the gravitational forces were assisting. The data showed that a vapor quality was always beneficial to the distribution. However, the effect of mass flux was case-dependent. For the horizontal case, the mass flux pushed the flow downstream, and worsened the distribution. For the tilted case, the mass flux assisted or opposed the gravity, yielding a better distribution.

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Abbreviations

c p :

Specific heat, J/kg · K

D:

Tube diameter

Fr:

Froude number

G :

Mass flux, kg/m2 · s

g :

Gravitational constant, m/s2

GFR :

Gas flow ratio

h :

Enthalpy, J/kg

LFR :

Liquid flow ratio

ṁ :

Mass flow rate, kg/s

N :

Number of channels

Q :

Supplied heat, W

Re :

Reynolds number

v:

Specific volume, m3/kg

x :

Vapor quality

α :

Tilt angle

μ :

Viscosity, kg/m · s

ρ :

Density, kg/m3

g :

Gas

go :

All gas

H :

Homogeneous

i :

Inlet or ith

in :

Inlet

l :

Liquid

lg :

Latent heat

o :

Outlet

p :

Preheater

r :

Refrigerant

sat :

Saturation

T :

Tube

w :

Water

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Incheon National University, Incheon, Korea

    Cheol-Hwan Kim & Nae-Hyun Kim

Authors
  1. Cheol-Hwan Kim
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  2. Nae-Hyun Kim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nae-Hyun Kim.

Additional information

Cheol-hwan Kim is a Ph.D. student in School of Mechanical System Engineering, University of Incheon. His interest includes heat transfer enhancement and HVAC.

Nae-Hyun Kim is a Professor in School of Mechanical System Engineering, University of Incheon. He received Ph.D. from Penn State University in 1989. His interest includes heat transfer enhancement, boiling and condensation in minichannels, flow distribution in flow heat exchangers, etc.

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Kim, CH., Kim, NH. Refrigerant distribution in an evaporator having a horizontal header and horizontal mini-channel tubes. J Mech Sci Technol 35, 4225–4237 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-021-0833-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-021-0833-4

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