Condensation Pressure Drop in Circular Microchannels
- 16 February 2005
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Heat Transfer Engineering
- Vol. 26 (3), 28-35
- https://doi.org/10.1080/01457630590907176
Abstract
This paper presents a multiple flow-regime model for pressure drop during the condensation of refrigerant R134a in horizontal microchannels. Two-phase pressure drops were measured in five circular channels ranging in hydraulic diameter from 0.5 mm to 4.91 mm. For each tube under consideration, pressure drop measurements were first taken over the entire range of qualities from 100% vapor to 100% liquid for five different refrigerant mass fluxes between 150 kg/m2-s and 750 kg/m2-s. Results from the previous work by the authors on condensation flow mechanisms in microchannel geometries were used to assign the applicable flow regime to the data points. Pressure drop models for intermittent [1] Garimella, S. , Killion, J. D. and Coleman, J. W. 2002. An Experimentally Validated Model for Two-Phase Pressure Drop in the Intermittent Flow Regime for Circular Microchannels. Journal of Fluids Engineering, vol. 124: 205–214. [CSA] [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] [Google Scholar] and annular [2] Garimella, S. , Agarwal, A. and Coleman, J. W. 2003. “Two-Phase Pressure Drops in the Annular Flow Regime in Circular Microchannels”. In 21st IIR International Congress of Refrigeration, ICR0360 [Google Scholar] flow reported earlier by the authors were modified and combined to develop a comprehensive model that addresses the entire progression of the condensation process from the vapor phase to the liquid phase. This combined model accurately predicts condensation pressure drops in the annular, disperse wave, mist, discrete wave, and intermittent flow regimes. Overlap and transition regions between the respective regimes are also addressed using an appropriate interpolation technique that results in relatively smooth transitions between the predicted pressure drops. The resulting model predicts 82% of the data within ± 20%.Keywords
This publication has 11 references indexed in Scilit:
- An Expermentally Validated Model for Two-Phase Pressure Drop in the Intermittent Flow Regime for Noncircular MicrochannelsJournal of Fluids Engineering, 2003
- Investigation of two-phase flow pattern, void fraction and pressure drop in a microchannelInternational Journal of Multiphase Flow, 2002
- Two-phase flow regimes in round, square and rectangular tubes during condensation of refrigerant R134aInternational Journal of Refrigeration, 2002
- Heat transfer correlation for boiling flows in small rectangular horizontal channels with low aspect ratiosInternational Journal of Multiphase Flow, 2001
- An Experimentally Validated Model for Two-Phase Pressure Drop in the Intermittent Flow Regime for Circular MicrochannelsJournal of Fluids Engineering, 2001
- Two-phase pressure drop of refrigerants during flow boiling in small channels: an experimental investigation and correlation developmentInternational Journal of Multiphase Flow, 2000
- Characterization of two-phase flow patterns in small diameter round and rectangular tubesInternational Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 1999
- Some characteristics of air-water two-phase flow in small diameter vertical tubesInternational Journal of Multiphase Flow, 1996
- A Model for Gas-Liquid Slug Flow in Horizontal and Near Horizontal TubesIndustrial & Engineering Chemistry Fundamentals, 1975
- A theoretical basis for the Lockhart-Martinelli correlation for two-phase flowInternational Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 1967