Condensation of downward-flowing HFC134a in a staggered bundle of horizontal finned tubes: effect of fin geometry

Experimental results are presented that show the effect of fin geometry on condensation of refrigerant HFC134a in a staggered bundle of horizontal finned tubes. Two types of conventional low-fin tubes and three types of three-dimensional fin tubes were tested. The refrigerant mass velocity ranged from 8 to 23 kg/m(2)s and the condensation temperature difference from 1.5 to 12 K. The effect of condensate inundation was more significant for the three-dimensional fin tubes than for the low-fin tubes. In most cases, the highest performance was obtained by the tube with a three-dimensional structure at the tip of low fins. In the case of high mass velocity and high condensate inundation rate, however, the highest performance was obtained by one of the low-fin tubes. The results were compared with previous results for bundles of smooth tubes and low-fin tubes. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.