High resolution local heat transfer and pressure drop infrared measurements of two-phase flow of R245fa within a compact plate heat exchanger

An experimental study is presented to characterize two-phase thermal and hydraulic performance of a prototype corrugated plate heat exchanger with small pressing depth. In particular, upward flow boiling of low pressure refrigerant R245fa was investigated for a prototype fabricated with two plates of only 1 mm pressing depth with a chevron angle of 65. High spatial and temporal resolution infrared measurements were obtained by self-calibration of the IR camera to measure local (pixel-by-pixel) heat transfer coefficients during diabatic tests and local frictional pressure drops over the entire plate during adiabatic tests. Two-phase experiments were carried out for mass fluxes from 10 to 85 kg m(-2) S-1, heat fluxes from 225 to 4100 W m(-2), saturation temperatures from 19 to 35 degrees C and vapor qualities from 0.05 to 0.90. The two-phase frictional pressure drops increased with mass flux and vapor quality while they decreased with increasing saturation temperature. A new correlation for predicting the local frictional pressure gradient through the test section was proposed. The present model captured the entire frictional pressure drop database within a bandwidth of 30%, providing a mean absolute error of 10% and mean error of 0.2%. The local flow boiling heat transfer coefficients were found to increase with mass flux, heat flux and saturation temperature while rising, leveling off and then decreasing with increasing vapor quality. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Two-Phase Heat Transfer Mechanisms within Plate Heat Exchangers

Raffaele Luca Amalfi

Plate heat exchangers are adopted in many domestic and industrial applications, such as ventilation, air conditioning, evaporation or condensation process, heat pumps and cooling of hydrodynamic circuits in engines. In the present thesis, an extensive experimental study to characterize thermal and hydraulic performance of a compact plate heat exchanger has been carried out and then follow up with proposition of new prediction methods for single-phase and evaporating flows in the plate¿s channels, in the form of general correlations that include large additional databases culled from the literature. Specifically, upward single-phase flow and flow boiling heat transfer of low pressure liquid refrigerants were investigated within a plate heat exchanger prototype fabricated with 1 mm pressing depth and chevron angle of 65°. High spatial and temporal resolution infrared measurements were implemented to obtain local (pixel-by-pixel) heat transfer coefficients and frictional pressure drops. Single-phase experiments were carried out for Reynolds numbers ranging from 34 to 1615 and Prandtl numbers from 4.9 until 6.5, and the associated effect of the main involved parameters on the thermal and hydraulic performance was analyzed in detail. Several of the most quoted prediction methods available in the literature were statistically evaluated against the present heat transfer and pressure drop database and a new models were proposed to predict mean and local thermal and hydraulic performance of the present compact plate heat exchanger. Two-phase experiments were carried out for mass fluxes ranging from 10 kgm-2s-1 to 85 kgm-2s-1, imposed heat fluxes from 225 Wm-2 to 4100 Wm-2, saturation temperatures from 19°C to 35°C and vapor qualities from 0.05 to 0.90. The heat transfer coefficient increased with mass flux, heat flux and saturation temperature (system pressure) whilst the frictional pressure drop rose with mass flux and vapor quality but decreased with saturation temperature. Based on local infrared measurements, a new correlation for predicting local frictional pressure gradient through the test section was proposed. Next, a wide experimental databank was culled from thirteen literature research studies, which investigated flow boiling heat transfer and two-phase frictional pressure drop within chevron plate heat exchangers. The database was first adopted to validate the predicted capabilities of 29 literature models, and then utilized to provide the new prediction methods to evaluate local heat transfer coefficients and frictional pressure gradient. These new models were developed from 1903 heat transfer and 1513 frictional pressure drop data points (3416 total) and were proved to work better over a very wide range of operating conditions, plate designs and fluids (including ammonia). The general flow boiling prediction methods have been programmed into a simulation code to analyze local thermal and hydraulic performance of the plate heat exchangers over a large range of test conditions. The simulation results were then validated against independent experimental database from literature, resulting in very good agreement between each other. The present simulation code represents a powerful tool to be used for practical applications by the thermal engineers in order to design and rate commercial plate heat exchangers.

EPFL2016

High resolution infrared measurements of single-phase flow of R245fa and R236fa within a compact plate heat exchanger, Part 2: Heat transfer results

Raffaele Luca Amalfi, John Richard Thome

In the second article of the present two-part paper, upward single-phase heat transfer within a compact plate heat exchanger was investigated experimentally. The experimental setup, the data reduction technique and pressure drop results were presented in Part 1, while high resolution infrared measurements of R245fa and R236fa were implemented to obtain local (pixel-by-pixel) heat transfer coefficients in Part 2. During the experiments, the Reynolds numbers changed from 34 to 1615, Prandtl numbers from 4.9 to 6.5 and the heat fluxes from 74 to 3478 W m(-2). The Nusselt number was dependent on the Reynolds and Prandtl numbers, as common in tubular flow. Local heat transfer coefficients were evaluated and the main trends against plate length, mass flux, heat flux, fluid temperature and type of refrigerants were investigated. Several of the most quoted prediction methods available in the literature were statistically evaluated against the present heat transfer database and a new model was proposed to predict the mean thermal performances of a compact plate heat exchanger. Additionally, a local heat transfer correlation that predicted 94% of the experimental data, including 510 points, within a bandwidth of +/- 30%, was also proposed. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2016

Boiling on a tube bundle

Francesco Agostini

The complexity of the two-phase flow in a tube bundle presents important problems in the design and understanding of the physical phenomena taking place. The working conditions of an evaporator depend largely on the dynamics of the two-phase flow that in turn influence the heat exchange and the pressure drop of the system. A characterization of the flow dynamics, and possibly the identification of the flow pattern in the tube bundle, in thus expected to lead to a better understanding of the phenomena and to reveal on the mechanisms governing the tube bundle. Therefore, the present study aims at providing further insights into two-phase bundle flow through a new visualization system able to provide for the first time a view of the flow in the core of a tube bundle. In addition, the measurement of the light attenuation of a laser beam through the two-phase flow and measurement of the high frequency pressure fluctuations with a piezo-electric pressure transducer are used to characterize the flow. The design and the validation of this new instrumentation also provided a method for the detection of dry-out in tube bundles. This was achieved by a laser attenuation technique, flow visualization, and estimation of the power spectrum of the pressure fluctuation. The current investigation includes results for two different refrigerants, R134a and R236fa, three saturations temperatures Tsat = 5, 10 and 15 °C, mass velocities ranging from 4 to 40 kg/sm2 in adiabatic and diabatic conditions (several heat fluxes). Measurement of the local heat transfer coefficient and two-phase frictional pressure drop were obtained and utilized to improve the current prediction methods. The heat transfer and pressure drop data were supported by extensive characterization of the two-phase flow, which was to improve the understanding of the two-phase flow occurring in tube bundles.

EPFL2008

Two-Phase Heat Transfer Mechanisms within Plate Heat Exchangers

Raffaele Luca Amalfi

EPFL2016