Two-phase flow heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of R-22 and R-32/125

Abstract

The two-phase heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop characteristics of refrigerants R-22 and R-32/125 (ASI 1990) (a mixture of 50 wt% R-32 and 50 wt% R-125 that exhibits azeotropic behavior) have been measured. The experiments were conducted without oil in the refrigerant loop. The condenser/evaporator test sections consist of smooth, horizontal copper tubes of 3/8-in. (9.53-mm) outer diameter (OD) and 0.305-in. (7.75-mm) inner diameter (ID). A lengths of the condenser and evaporator test sections are 10 ft (3.05 m) and 12 ft (3.66 m), respectively. The condenser is a counterflow heat exchanger with refrigerant flowing in the inner tube and a water-glycol mixture flowing in the annulus. The evaporator is a smooth copper tube sandwiched with aluminum blocks. Heating tapes are wrapped around the outer surface of these aluminum blocks. The average saturated condensing temperatures were 115 F (46.1 C) and 125 F (51.7 C), while the saturated evaporating temperature was 40 F (4.4 C). The average inlet and exit qualities for the condensation tests were 87% and 25%, respectively and for the evaporation tests they were 20% and 90%, respectively. The mass flux was varied from 118 klb/ft{sup 2}{minus}{center_dot}h (160 kg/s{center_dot}m{sup 2}) to 414 klb/ft{sup 2}{center_dot}h (561 kg/s{center_dot}m{sup 2}).more » A differential pressure transducer was used to measure the pressure drop across the test section. The results showed that at similar mass fluxes the condensation heat transfer coefficients for R-32/125 were slightly higher (about 2% to 6%) than those of R-22.« less