Modeling of condensation heat transfer of pure refrigerants in micro-fin tubes

A new semi-empirical condensation model for heat transfer coefficient of pure refrigerants flowing inside micro-fin tubes is presented. The new model is developed based on a theoretical analysis of turbulent film condensation inside smooth tubes. Several modifications have been implemented in the original smooth-tube model to account for the heat transfer enhancement effects due to the presence of micro-fins on the internal wall surface. The new condensation model is compared with a set of around 400 experimental data points. The comparison shows that the new model is capable of producing consistent prediction results with a mean absolute deviation less than 20% for most of the available data sets. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.