Condensation heat transfer coefficients of flammable refrigerants on various enhanced tubes

In this study, external condensation heat transfer coefficients (HTCs) of six flammable refrigerants of propylene (R1270), propane (R290), isobutane (R600a), butane (R600), dimethylether (RE 170), and HFC32 were measured at the vapor temperature of 39 degrees C on a 1023 fpm low fin and Turbo-C tubes. All data were taken under the heat flux of 32 similar to 116 and 42 similar to 142 kW/m(2) for the low fin and Turbo-C tubes respectively. Flammable refrigerants' data obtained on enhanced tubes showed a typical trend that external condensation HTCs decrease with increasing wall subcooling. HFC32 and DME showed up to 30% higher HTCs than those of HCFC22 due to their excellent thermophysical properties. Propylene, propane, isobutane, and butane showed similar or lower HTCs than those of HCFC22. Beatty and Katz' correlation predicted the HTCs of the flammable refrigerants obtained on a low fin tube within a mean deviation of 7.3%. Turbo-C tube showed the best performance due to its 3 dimensional surface geometry for fast removal of condensate.