Surface Tension of HFC Refrigerant Mixtures

Abstract

The surface tension of refrigerant mixtures, i.e., R-410A (50 mass% R-32/50 mass% R-125), R-410B (45 mass% R-32/55 mass% R-125), R-407C (23 mass% R-32/25 mass% R-125/52 mass% R-134a), R-404A (44 mass% R-125/52 mass% R-143a/4 mass% R-134a), and R-507 (50 mass% R-125/50 mass% R-143a), has been measured and correlated in the present study. Although the first three mixtures are very important as promising replacements for R-22 in air-conditioners and heat-pumps and the last two are promising replacements for R-502, surface tension data for these mixtures were not previously available. The measurements were conducted under conditions of coexistence of the sample liquid and its saturated vapor in equilibrium. The differential capillary rise method (DCRM) was used, with two glass capillaries with inner radii of 0.3034±0.0002 and 0.5717±0.0002 mm. The temperature range covered was from 273 to 323 K, and the uncertainty of measurements for surface tensions and temperatures is estimated to be at most ±0.2 mN·m⁻¹ and ±20 mK, respectively. A mixing rule was selected for representing the temperature dependence of the resultant data. These data were successfully represented by a mixing rule using mass fraction based on the van der Waals correlation.