Flow boiling of R134a in vertical mini-diameter tubes
type: CreativeWork
description: The current study is a part of a long term experimental project devoted to investigate flow boiling heat transfer, pressure drop and flow visualization of R134a in small to mini/micro-diameter tubes. The experimental facility was first designed and constructed by X. Huo (2005) with the contribution of L. Chen (2006). In the present study, the experimental facility was upgraded by changing the heating system from AC to DC heating and also upgrading the logging system through using a faster data logger and developing a new Labview program. The objectives of the current study include (i) contribute in identifying the reasons behind the wide scatter in the published flow boiling heat transfer results, (ii) contribute in understanding the fundamentals of flow boiling heat transfer in mini/micro-diameter tubes and (iii) evaluation of the existing heat transfer and pressure drop prediction methods. Two sizes of stainless steel tubes were investigated in the current study; 0.52 mm and 1.1 mm diameter. In the current study, the 0.52 mm tube was roughly called a “micro-tube” whilst the 1.1 mm tubes were called “mini-tubes”. The present study proposes two possible reasons for the scatter in the published heat transfer results. The first reason is the variations in the heated length from one study to another–there is no criterion for choosing the heated length. The second reason is the variations in the inner surface characteristics of the channels from one study to another. These two important parameters were not taken into consideration by researchers in the past studies. Accordingly, the effect of the heated length was investigated in the current study using a seamless cold drawn tube with diameter of 1.1 mm and heated length ranging from 150 to 450 mm. The effect of the tube inner surface was also tested here by conducting the test in two stainless steel tubes with diameter of 1.1 mm and manufactured by two different processes. The first tube was manufactured by welding tec…
abstract: The current study is a part of a long term experimental project devoted to investigate flow boiling heat transfer, pressure drop and flow visualization of R134a in small to mini/micro-diameter tubes. The experimental facility was first designed and constructed by X. Huo (2005) with the contribution of L. Chen (2006). In the present study, the experimental facility was upgraded by changing the heating system from AC to DC heating and also upgrading the logging system through using a faster data logger and developing a new Labview program. The objectives of the current study include (i) contribute in identifying the reasons behind the wide scatter in the published flow boiling heat transfer results, (ii) contribute in understanding the fundamentals of flow boiling heat transfer in mini/micro-diameter tubes and (iii) evaluation of the existing heat transfer and pressure drop prediction methods. Two sizes of stainless steel tubes were investigated in the current study; 0.52 mm and 1.1 mm diameter. In the current study, the 0.52 mm tube was roughly called a “micro-tube” whilst the 1.1 mm tubes were called “mini-tubes”. The present study proposes two possible reasons for the scatter in the published heat transfer results. The first reason is the variations in the heated length from one study to another–there is no criterion for choosing the heated length. The second reason is the variations in the inner surface characteristics of the channels from one study to another. These two important parameters were not taken into consideration by researchers in the past studies. Accordingly, the effect of the heated length was investigated in the current study using a seamless cold drawn tube with diameter of 1.1 mm and heated length ranging from 150 to 450 mm. The effect of the tube inner surface was also tested here by conducting the test in two stainless steel tubes with diameter of 1.1 mm and manufactured by two different processes. The first tube was manufactured by welding tec…
author: Mahmoud M, Mohamed M
language: en
keywords: Flow boiling heat transfer, Pressure drop, Flow visualization, Logging system, Mechanistic models
date published: 2011
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:23:24Z
provider: University of Brunel
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Brunel University School of Engineering and Design PhD Theses