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Comparisons of the heat transfer and pressure drop of the microchannel and minichannel heat exchangers

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Abstract

The present study investigated the comparisons of the heat transfer and pressure drop of the microchannel and minichannel heat exchangers, both numerically and experimentally. The results obtained from this study indicated that the heat transfer rate obtained from microchannel heat exchanger was higher than those obtained from the minichannel heat exchangers; however, the pressure drops obtained from the microchannel heat exchanger were also higher than those obtained from the minichannel heat exchangers. As a result, the microchannel heat exchanger should be selected for the systems where high heat transfer rates are needed. In addition, at the same average velocity of water in the channels used in this study, the effectiveness obtained from the microchannel heat exchanger was 1.2–1.53 times of that obtained from the minichannel heat exchanger. Furthermore, the results obtained from the experiments were in good agreement with those obtained from the design theory and the numerical analyses.

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Abbreviations

A :

Heat transfer area (m2)

A c :

Cross-sectional area (m2)

c p :

Specific heat at constant pressure [J/(kg K)]

D c :

Depth of channel (m)

D h :

Hydraulic diameter (m)

f :

Friction factor

k :

Overall heat transfer coefficient [W/(m2K)]

L :

Length of substrate (m)

m :

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

P :

Wetted perimeter (m)

q :

Heat flux (W/m2)

Q c :

Heat transfer rate of the cold side (W)

Q h :

Heat transfer rate of the hot side (W)

Q i :

Internal heat generation (W/m3)

Q loss :

Heat loss rate (W)

Re :

Reynolds number

T :

Temperature (°C)

u :

Velocity in the x-direction (m/s)

v :

Velocity in the y-direction (m/s)

w :

Velocity in the z-direction (m/s)

W c :

Width of microchannel (m)

ρ :

Density (kg/m3)

μ :

Dynamic viscosity [kg/(ms)]

ε :

Effectiveness (NTU method)

λ :

Thermal conductivity [W/(mK)]

Δp :

Pressure drop (Pa)

ΔT lm :

Log mean temperature difference (°C)

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Acknowledgments

The supports of this work by (1) the project (Project No. NSC 99-2221-E-033-025) sponsored by National Science Council of the Republic of China in Taiwan and (2) the project (under Grant No. CYCU-98-CR-ME) sponsored by the specific research fields at Chung Yuan Christian University, Taiwan, are deeply appreciated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Heat and Refrigeration Technology, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technical Education, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Thanhtrung Dang

  2. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Chung Yuan Christian University, Chung-Li, 32023, Taiwan, Republic of China

    Jyh-Tong Teng

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  1. Thanhtrung Dang
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  2. Jyh-Tong Teng
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Correspondence to Jyh-Tong Teng.

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Dang, T., Teng, JT. Comparisons of the heat transfer and pressure drop of the microchannel and minichannel heat exchangers. Heat Mass Transfer 47, 1311–1322 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-011-0793-9

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