Experimental Investigation of Two-Phase Flow Distribution with Different Vertical Header Configurations

Moojong Kim (), Mark Anthony Redo, Jongsoo Jeong, Kiyoshi Saito, Sangmu Lee and Hyunyoung Kim
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Moojong Kim: Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
Mark Anthony Redo: Department of Food Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8477, Japan
Jongsoo Jeong: Research Institute for Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
Kiyoshi Saito: Department of Applied Mechanics and Aerospace Engineering, Waseda University, 3-4-1 Okubo, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 169-8555, Japan
Sangmu Lee: Samsung Research and Development Institute Japan, Osaka 562-0036, Japan
Hyunyoung Kim: Samsung Research and Development Institute Japan, Osaka 562-0036, Japan

Energies, 2022, vol. 15, issue 21, 1-21

Abstract: In this study, we investigated the behavior of two-phase flow distribution inside a vertical header of a microchannel heat exchanger (MCHX) that functions as an evaporator of a heat pump system. In general, the two-phase flow distribution behavior of the refrigerant differs depending on the target application, which ranges from small-scale automobile air-conditioners to large-scale building heat pump systems. Particularly, it is reported that the distribution characteristics in the vertical header of the MCHX vary extensively according to the inlet flow conditions of the refrigerant and the physical profile of the header. In this study, the physical configurations (header height, branch tube diameter) of four types of vertical headers were considered. Thereafter, the operating conditions in an experimental device that simulates an MCHX with a vertical header were selected. The experiment was performed under R410A as the working fluid, with a saturation temperature of 15 °C, inlet mass flow rate of 50–150 kg h −1 (mass flux of 908–2723 kg m −2 s −1 ), and an inlet vapor quality of 0.1–0.2. The liquid and vapor flow ratios and the relative standard deviation were adopted as metrics to characterize the uniformity of flow distribution. The distribution characteristics were subsequently described according to Reynolds and Froude numbers. The larger the Reynolds number and the smaller the Froude number, the more uniform the two-phase flow distribution becomes. A correlation was proposed as a function of the Reynolds and Froude numbers to predict the flow distribution characteristics for the considered vertical headers.

Keywords: heat pump; microchannel heat exchanger; flow distribution; vertical header; header structure; maldistribution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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