Experimental measurements for condensation of downward-flowing R123/R134a in a staggered bundle of horizontal low-finned tubes with four fin geometries

Experiments were conducted to obtain row-by-row heat and mass transfer data during condensation of downward-flowing zeotropic mixture R123/R134a in a staggered bundle of horizontal low-finned tubes. The vapor temperature and the mass fraction of R134a at the tube bundle inlet were about 50 degrees C and 14%, respectively. The refrigerant mass velocity ranged from 9 to 34 kg m(-2) s(-1), and the condensation temperature difference from 1.9 to 12 K. Four kinds of low-finned tubes with different fin geometry were tested. The highest heat transfer coefficient was obtained with a tube which showed the highest performance for R123. However, the difference among the tubes was much smaller for the mixture than for R123. The heat transfer coefficient and the vapor-phase mass transfer coefficient decreased significantly with decreasing mass velocity. The mass transfer coefficient increased with condensation temperature difference, which was due to the effect of suction associated with condensation. On the basis of the analogy between heat and mass transfer, a dimensionless correlation of the mass transfer coefficient was developed for each tube. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.