International Journal of Refrigeration 26 (2003) 452–460

www.elsevier.com/locate/ijrefrig

Condensation of refrigerants in horizontal microfin tubes:

comparison of prediction methods for heat transfer
H.S. Wang, H. Honda*,1
Institute of Advanced Material Study, Kyushu University, Kasuga, Fukuoka 816-8580, Japan
Received 29 November 2001; received in revised form 6 May 2002; accepted 6 May 2002

Abstract
A comparison was made between the predictions of previously proposed empirical correlations and theoretical
model and available experimental data for the heat transfer coefficient during condensation of refrigerants in hor-
izontal microfin tubes. The refrigerants tested were R11, R123, R134a, R22 and R410A. Experimental data for six
tubes with the tube inside diameter at fin root of 6.49–8.88 mm, the fin height of 0.16–0.24 mm, fin pitch of 0.34–0.53
mm and helix angle of groove of 12–20
were adopted. The r.m.s. error of the predictions for all tubes and all refrig-
erants decreased in the order of the correlations proposed by Luu and Bergles [ASHRAE Trans. 86 (1980) 293],
Cavallini et al. [Cavallini A, Doretti L, Klammsteiner N, Longo L G, Rossetto L. Condensation of new refrigerants
inside smooth and enhanced tubes. In: Proc. 19th Int. Cong. Refrigeration, vol. IV, Hague, The Netherlands, 1995. p.
105–14], Shikazono et al. [Trans. Jap. Sco. Mech. Engrs. 64 (1995) 196], Kedzierski and Goncalves [J. Enhanced Heat
Transfer 6 (1999) 16], Yu and Koyama [Yu J, Koyama S. Condensation heat transfer of pure refrigerants in microfin
tubes. In: Proc. Int. Refrigeration Conference at Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, USA, 1998. p. 325–30], and the theo-
retical model proposed by Wang et al. [Int. J. Heat Mass Transfer 45 (2002) 1513].
# 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Heat transfer; Mass transfer; Condensation; Tube; Enhanced; R11; R123; R134a; R22; R410A; Heat transfer coefficient;
Mass transfer; Measurement

Frigorigènes : condensation à l’intérieur de tubes horizontaux

à microailettes. Comparaison des méthodes de calcul utilisées
pour le transfert de chaleur
Mots cle´s : Transfert de chaleur ; Transfert de masse ; Condensation ; Tube ; Surface augmentée ; R11 ; R123 ; R134a ; R22 ; R410A ;
Coefficient de transfert de chaleur ; Mesure

1. Introduction condensation heat transfer and pressure drop have been

Helically grooved, horizontal microfin tubes have been
commonly used in air conditioners due to their high heat
transfer performance. Many experimental studies reporting
on the effects of fin geometry and tube diameter on the
* Corresponding author. Tel.: +81-92-583-7787; fax: +81-
92-583-7882.
E-mail address: hhonda@cm.kyushu-u.ac.jp (H. Honda).
1
Member of Commission B1.
0140-7007/03/$30.00 # 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/S0140-7007(02)00158-5
published. Cavallini et al. [2], Yu and Koyama [5],
Shikazono et al. [3] and Kedzierski and Goncalves [4] have
proposed dimensionless heat transfer correlations in
which the dimensionless parameters taking account of the
fin geometry effect were incorporated. Nozu and Honda
[7] and Honda et al. [8], respectively, proposed the annular
flow model and stratified flow model of film condensation
in horizontal microfin tubes. Wang et al. [6] modified
these theoretical models to take account of the factors
that were neglected in the previous models.
 H.S. Wang, H. Honda / International Journal of Refrigeration 26 (2003) 452–460 453

Nomenclature Xtt Martinelli parameter

z vertical height measured from coordinate
A cross sectional area of tube, m2 surface at =s, Fig. 1
b width of groove at fin tip, m
Bo Bond number, bgdr(
l
v)/
cp specific heat, J kg1 K1 Greek symbols
d tube diameter, m  heat transfer coefficient, W m2 K-1
e energy, J m1  void fraction
f friction factor helix angle of groove,

F dimensionless number, 8n
2v/
lhG2c "a surface area enhancement as compared to a
Fr modified Froude number, G/[
v(
l
v)gd]0.5 smooth tube
or G/[
v(
l
v)gd]0.5  fin half tip angle,

g gravitational acceleration, m s2 l thermal conductivity, W m1 K-1
G refrigerant mass velocity, kg m2 s1  dynamic viscosity, Pa s
Ga Galileo number, g
2l d2/2l
density, kg m3
h fin height, m  surface tension, N m1
hfg specific enthalpy of evaporation, J kg1  angular coordinate, Fig. 1
n number of fins v two-phase multiplier
Nu Nusselt number, md/ll  mass quality
p fin pitch, m
P pressure, Pa
Ph phase change number, cplDT/hfg Subscripts
Pr Prandtl number c core or fin tip
q heat flux, W m2 cr critical
r radius of curvature of condensate surface in e based on equivalent diameter
fin cross-section, m h based on hydraulic diameter
R fin geometry parameter i interface
r0 radius of curvature at corner of fin tip, m l liquid
Re Reynolds number m circumferential average value
S perimeter length, m o outside
T temperature,
C r fin root or mid point at fin root

Ts condensation temperature difference,
C s saturation
u velocity, m s1 v vapor
x, y coordinates, Fig. 1 w wall
x0 length of flat portion at fin tip, m f local value at =s

This paper reports on the result of an extensive com-
parison between the predicted and measured heat
transfer coefficients. Considering the fact that the accu-
racy of the measured heat transfer coefficient depends
largely on that of the measured wall temperature, only
the experimental data are adopted in which the local
wall temperatures at the top, side(s) and bottom of the
tube are measured by thermocouples. Comparison is
also made with the heat transfer correlation for intern-
ally finned tubes with relatively large fin dimensions
proposed by Luu and Bergles [1].
2. Heat transfer correlations
Table 1 summarizes the heat transfer correlations to
be compared with the experimental data. The Luu and
Bergles [1] correlation is based on the Boyko and
Kruzhilin [9] correlation for forced convection con-
densation inside smooth tubes and the hydraulic dia-
meter and a dimensionless parameter were used to
accounting for the geometrical effect. The Cavallini et
al. [2] correlation is based on the Cavallini and Zecchin
[10] correlation for forced convection condensation
inside smooth tubes and two parameters accounting for
the geometrical effect and the ratio of vapor shear to
surface tension forces are incorporated. Yu and
Koyama [5] correlation consists of two terms that
apply to the forced convection condensation regime
and the gravity drained condensation regime, respec-
tively. For the forced convection condensation regime,
the geometrical effect is accounted for by referring the
heat transfer coefficient to the actual surface area. For
the gravity drained condensation regime, the Nusselt
[11] type condensation is assumed along with a correc-
tion term for stratified condensate. A weaker depen-
454 H.S. Wang, H. Honda / International Journal of Refrigeration 26 (2003) 452–460

Fig. 1. Physical model and coordinates.

dence on the surface area increase than the forced When the interfacial shear stress is assumed to be uni-
convection condensation regime is assumed. Shikazono form over the tube cross-section, its component  I in the
et al. [3] correlation also consists of two terms that direction of groove is related to the frictional pressure
apply to the forced convection condensation regime gradient (dP/dz)F by the following equation:
and the gravity drained condensation regime, respec-


1 A dP
tively. The functional form for the forced convection i ¼  Ab  cos ð14Þ
Sp n dz F
condensation regime is similar to that proposed by Yu
and Koyama [5]. For the gravity drained condensation where Ab is the cross-sectional area of condensate film
regime, they introduce a term accounting for the effect for a fin pitch and Sp=2(xb+rb ) is the perimeter length
of condensate retention in the groove caused by the of condensate film for a fin pitch [see Fig. 1(d)]. The
surface tension force. Kedzierski and Goncalves [4] (dP/dz)F is obtained from the following empirical equa-
correlation includes seven dimensionless groups. In tion for microfin tubes proposed by Nozu et al. [12]:
their correlation, the geometrical effect is accounted for


by using the hydraulic diameter as the length scale and dp    dp
 ¼ 1þð1 þ 10=FrÞ0:5 25Xtt þ1:6X2tt v 
eferring the heat transfer coefficient to the actual sur- dz F dz v
face area. ð15Þ
 0:5
where Fr ¼ G=
v ð
l 
v Þdg is the modified Froude
3. Theoretical model number and ðdP=dzÞv is the pressure gradient for sin-
gle-phase vapor flow. The ðdP=dzÞv is estimated by
3.1. Modified annular flow model using the following correlation for the internally finned
tubes proposed by Carnavos [14]:
The condensate generated on the fin surface flows

dP 1de ðGÞ2
into the groove between adjacent fins by the surface  ¼ 0:092Re0:2
v ðsec Þ0:75 ð16Þ
dz v dh d
v
tension induced pressure gradient. Then the condensate
flows through the groove by the vapor shear force. where Rev ¼ Gd=v is the vapor Reynolds number.
 H.S. Wang, H. Honda / International Journal of Refrigeration 26 (2003) 452–460 455

Table 1
Summary of proposed heat transfer correlations

1. Luu and Bergles [1]:


0:22
ll Gdh 0:8 0:43 h2 0:5
ð
=
m Þin þð
=
m Þ0:5
out
m;LB ¼ 0:024 Prl ð1Þ
d l bm d 2

where d is the tube diameter at fin root, dh ¼ 4A=d"a is the hydraulic diameter, "a is the surface area enhancement as
compared
 with a smooth tubewith diameter d, G is the mass velocity, A is the cross-sectional area of tube, bm ¼ p  htan 
2 x0 þ r0 ½cos  ð1  sinÞtan is the average inter-fin spacing, p is the fin pitch, h is the fin height,  is the fin half-tip angle, and x0
and r0 are the geometrical parameters of fin defined in Table 2,
=
m ¼ 1 þ ð
l 
v Þ=
v ,  is the quality, Prl is the Prandtl number of
liquid, and
v and
l are the vapor and condensate densities, respectively.
2. Cavallini et. al. [2]:

m;Ca ¼ NuCa ll =d ð2Þ

where NuCa ¼ 0:05Reeq 0:8

Pr1=3
l R
2:0 0:26
F ð3Þ
" 2hnð1  sinÞ

0:5 # þ1 2
Gc dc
l dc cos 8n
v
Reeq ¼ ð 1  Þ þ  ,R¼ ,F¼ , dc ¼ d  2h, Gc is the mass velocity based on the core flow
l
v cos 
l hG2c

area of microfin tube, n is the number of fins, is the helix angle of groove and  is the surface tension.
3. Yu and Koyama [5]:

m;YK ¼ "a NuYK ll =de ð4Þ

 1=2
where NuYK ¼ Nu2f þ Nu2b ð5Þ

  0:68 v
Nuf ¼ 0:152 0:3 þ 0:1Pr1:1
l Rele ; ð6Þ
Xtt

1=4
1=4
d Gae Prl
Nub ¼ 0:725 "a HðÞ ð7Þ
de Ph

pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Rele ¼ Gð1  Þde =l , de ¼ 4A=, v ¼ 1:1 þ 1:3½Fre Xtt 0:35 , Fre ¼ G=
v ð
l 
v Þgde ,
 pffiffiffi pffiffiffi
Gae ¼ g
2l d3e =2l , HðÞ ¼  þ 10ð1  Þ0:1 8:0  1   ,
8 2 0 1391
>
l 1 >

0:9
0:5
0:1 >
 >
1
v l <
v 1   6 B
v þ 0:4  C7=
Xtt ¼ , ¼ 1þ 60:4 þ 0:6B C7 is the void fraction based on the Smith [16]

l v >
l  4 @ 1   A5>
>
: 1 þ 0:4 >
;


correlation, Ph ¼ cpl
Ts =hfg ,
Ts is the condensation temperature difference, hfg is the specific enthalpy of evaporation and g is the
gravitational acceleration.
4. Shikazono et al. [3]:

m;Sh ¼ NuSh ll =d ð8Þ

 1=2
where NuSh ¼ Nu2f þ ðfNub Þ2 ; ð9Þ

(continued on next page)

456 H.S. Wang, H. Honda / International Journal of Refrigeration 26 (2003) 452–460

Table 1 (continued)
  0:77
Nuf ¼ 0:0152 1 þ 0:6Pr0:8
l Relr v =Xtt ; ð10Þ

1=4
Gar Prl
Nub ¼ 0:725HðÞ ; ð11Þ
Ph
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
Relr ¼ Gð1  Þd=l , v ¼ 1 þ 0:5Fr0:75 0:35
r Xtt , Frr ¼ G=
v ð
l 
v Þgd,

 pffiffiffi pffiffiffi
Gar ¼ g
2l d 3 =2l , HðÞ ¼  þ 10ð1  Þ0:1 8:9  1   , f ¼ max½f1 ; minðf2 ; f3 Þ; f4 ,

1:3 1=ð1:2Þ
Bo  bgdð
l 
v Þ
f1 ¼ 0:265R 1:2 Bo0:05 1=ð0:140:0073RÞ , f2 ¼ 0:448R 0:8 Bo0:1 0:9 , f3 ¼ , f4=1.0, Bo ¼ ,
0:7R 0:5 

!

54 2 2h
b  2htan þ 1 þ 1 pbþ
7  cos
R¼ ,
p

b ¼ p  2½x0 þ r0 cos  r0 ð1  sinÞtan is the inter-fin spacing at fin tip and  and Ph are the same as those in Yu and Koyama [5].
5. Kedzierski and Goncalves [4]:

m;KG ¼ "a NuKG ll =dh ð12Þ

where


 2"
#0:4742 " #2:531
Gdh 0:303 0:232 0:393 P 0:578 P
l 
v
NuKG ¼ 2:256 Ph Prl log10 ð13Þ
l Pcr Pcr 
l þ ð1  Þ
v

dh ¼ 4Acos =d"a , P is the pressure, Pcr is the critical pressure and Ph are the same as that in Yu and Koyama [5].

Table 2
Fin and tube dimensions

Tube designation A B C D E F G

Outside diameter do mm 9.5 10.0 9.5 7.0 7.0 7.0 7.0

Fin root diameter d mm 8.44 8.48 8.88 6.50 6.49 6.50 6.41
Number of fins n – 47 60 60 50 60 50 50


Helix angle ã 20.0 18.0 18.7 18.0 18.0 12.0 15.0
Fin pitcha p mm 0.53 0.42 0.44 0.39 0.34 0.40 0.39
Fin height h mm 0.24 0.16 0.19 0.21 0.19 0.22 0.15


Fin half tip anglea y 30.5 19.9 22.3 19.5 13.1 12.7 22.1
Curvature radius r0 mm 0.074 0.015 0.025 0.008 0.03 0.02 0.021
at corner of fin tipa
Length of flat x0 mm 0.004 0.027 0.015 0.019 0.018 0.032 0.017
portion at fin tipa
Area enhancement "a – 1.49 1.52 1.51 1.71 1.78 1.83 1.48
ratio
Length of sub- mm 400 500 600 300 300 1000 400
section
Tube length mm 3.2 6.0 1.2 1.8 1.8 7.56 1.2
Authors Nozu and Haraguchi Hayashi Miyara Miyara Uchida Mine
Honda [7] [17] [18] et al. [19] et al. [19] et al. [20]
a
Dimension in a cross-section normal to groove.
 H.S. Wang, H. Honda / International Journal of Refrigeration 26 (2003) 452–460
The condensate profile in the fin cross-section is
basically the same as in Fig. 1(d) for the stratified flow
model. It consists of a thin film region near the fin tip
and a thick film region near the fin root. For the thin
film region, the condensate film is assumed to be fully
developed in the direction of the groove. Thus the
distribution of condensate film thickness  in the fin
cross-section is obtained by solving the equation for
surface tension drained condensate flow [7]. In the
thick film region, where the velocity component in the
fin cross-section is very small, the condensate profile is
assumed to be a circular arc. The flow rate of con-
densate along the groove is obtained by solving the
two-dimensional Laplace equation. The circumferential
average heat transfer coefficient m;ann is obtained
from
m;ann ¼ Nuann ll =p; ð17Þ
(ð ð ’b % )

x,b % & &
Nuann ¼ 2 1=, dx, þ @T, =@R, R, w d’
, ¼R, w
R dl
0 0
ð18Þ
where ,, x, etc. denote the values normalized by p.
3.2. Modified stratified flow model
Fig. 1 shows the physical model of stratified con-
densate flow in a helically grooved, horizontal microfin
tube and coordinates. In Fig. 1(a) for the tube cross-
section, the shape of vapor–liquid interface is assumed
to be a circular arc centered at O1. The angle ’ is mea-
sured from the top of the tube. The ’s denotes the angle
below which the tube is filled with stratified condensate.
The tube surfaces at the angular portions 0 4 ’ 4 ’s
and ’s 4 ’ 4  are denoted as region 1 and region 2,
respectively. In the region just above the level of strati-
fied condensate, condensate is retained in the groove
between adjacent fins by the capillary effect. As a result,
a relatively thick condensate film is formed in the
groove. The angle below which the condensate is
retained in the groove is denoted as the flooding angle ’f .
Figs 1(c) and (d) show the condensate profiles in the fin
cross-sections for regions 0 4 ’ 4 ’f and ’f 4 ’ 4 ’s ,
respectively. The fin height and fin pitch is h and p,
respectively, and the fin half tip angle is . The con-
densate on the fin surface is drained by the combined
gravity and surface tension forces toward the fin root.
Then it flows down the groove by gravity. Thus the
condensate film thickness  is very small near the fin tip
and it is relatively thick near the fin root The profile of
stratified vapor-liquid interface is estimated by the
combination of a modified Taitel and Dukler [14] model
[7] for the stratified flow and a model of interface con-
figuration taking account of the surface tension effect
proposed by Brauner et al. [15].
457
In the angular portion ’f 4 ’ 4 ’s , the condensate
profile in the thick film region is approximated by a
static meniscus that touches the fin flank [shown by a
dotted line in Fig. 2(d)].
In the thin film region 0 4 ’ 4 ’f , the condensate on
the fin surface is drained in the x direction by the com-
bined surface tension and gravity forces, and along the
groove by the gravity force. The numerical scheme for
obtaining the solution of the distribution of  is given in
Honda et al. [8].
The average heat transfer coefficient for region 1, 1,
is defined on the projected area basis as
ð ð ð
1 ’s 2ll ’s xr 1
1 ¼ j d’ ¼ dxd’ ð19Þ
’s 0 p’s 0 0 
The heat transfer coefficient in region 2, 2, is esti-
mated using the empirical equation for forced convection
in internally finned tubes developed by Carnavos [13]:


ll
l dl Ul 0:8 0:4 A 0:1 0:5
2 ¼ 0:023 Prl "a ðsec Þ3 ð20Þ
l Ac
where dl is the equivalent diameter of liquid space, Ul is
the average liquid velocity, Ac=d2c /4 is the core flow
area.
The circumferential average heat transfer coefficient
m,str is obtained from
m;str ¼ qm =ðTs  Twm Þ ð21Þ
where
 
qm ¼ ’s q1 þ ð  ’s Þq2 =; ð22Þ
 
Ts Twm ¼ ’s ðTs  Tw1 Þ þ ð  ’s ÞðTs  Tw2 Þ = ð23Þ
qm, q1 and q2 are the circumferential average heat flux,
the average heat flux for region 1 and the average heat
flux for region 2, respectively, Ts is the saturation tem-
perature, and Twm, Tw1 and Tw2 are the circumferential
average wall temperature, the average wall temperature
for region1 and the average wall temperature for region
2, respectively.
Wang et al. [6] adopted the higher of the above two
theoretical predictions as the theoretical prediction. Thus
 
m;Wa ¼ max m;ann ; m;str ð24Þ
It is well known that the two-phase flow pattern dur-
ing condensation inside horizontal tubes undergoes
annular, semi-annular, wavy and stratified flows at low
flow rates, whereas it undergoes annular, semi-annular,
slug and plug flows at high flow rates. Comparison of
available experimental data (listed in Tables 2 and 3)
with the flow pattern map developed by Taitel and
Dukler [14] revealed that the experimental data fell in
the annular, semi-annular, wavy and stratified flow
regimes except for a few points for R11 at high G and
low  reported by Nozu et al. [12]. Considering the fact
458 H.S. Wang, H. Honda / International Journal of Refrigeration 26 (2003) 452–460

Table 3
Performance of theoretical model and empirical correlations

Tube Fluid N G Symbol Luu and Cavallini Yu and Shikazono Kedzierski and Wang
(kg/m2 s) Bergles [1] et al. [2] Koyama [5] et al. [3] Goncalves [6] et al. [6]

a.m. r.m.s. a.m. r.m.s. a.m. r.m.s. a.m. r.m.s. a.m. r.m.s. a.m. r.m.s.

A R11 47 120–459 ^ 40.5 43.7 77.1 77.1 18.4 25.4 51.2 51.7 39.9 41.7 11.5 19.2
B R123 65 99–295 ~ 22.5 29.3 44.1 44.6 1.5 14.7 34.8 36.1 14.2 17.9 5.9 14.1
B R134a 57 116–296 & 32.0 35.0 13.0 15.3 8.7 15.4 31.2 35.1 23.2 24.8 1.2 9.9
B R22 66 123–295 ! 40.8 43.1 3.6 13.2 13.7 16.9 25.3 29.9 26.4 27.3 0.1 11.0
C R134a 78 94–307 * 43.3 45.5 13.6 16.8 15.2 18.1 27.2 29.2 26.4 27.1 5.3 10.5
D R410A 30 95–381 55.2 56.4 21.1 24.8 3.5 14.2 19.3 31.1 9.6 13.2 6.6 13.6
E R410A 25 193–384 48.4 49.5 69.0 72.1 11.6 19.9 11.9 22.0 6.2 10.1 25.4 27.2
F R22 20 199–387 + 52.0 52.7 19.8 25.1 17.8 22.2 6.0 19.3 26.0 28.6 13.1 16.4
G R410A 52 98–308
39.2 42.8 2.4 14.2 0.0 13.7 14.5 21.7 14.4 17.8 1.5 12.3
Total 440 94–459 39.1 42.8 13.4 37.8 6.4 17.7 27.3 33.0 18.8 25.4 3.1 14.3

N: number of experimental data; a.m.: arithmetic mean error (%); r.m.s.: root-mean-square error (%).

Fig. 2. Comparison of measured and predicted heat transfer coefficients.

 H.S. Wang, H. Honda / International Journal of Refrigeration 26 (2003) 452–460
Fig. 2 (continued).
that the flow pattern transition occurs continuously, a
better agreement with experimental data may be
obtained by the following equation:
 1=n
m;Wa ¼ nm;ann þ nm;str ð25Þ
where n=24.
4. Comparison with measured heat transfer coefficients
The values of m predicted by the foregoing corre-
lations and theoretical model are compared with experi-
mental data for condensation of five refrigerants in six
microfin tubes obtained by Nozu and Honda [7], Har-
aguchi [17], Hayashi [18], Miyara et al. [19], Uchida et al.
[20] and Mine [21]. The refrigerants tested were R11,
R123, R134a, R22 and R410A. Table 2 summarizes the
fin and tube dimensions of the test tubes. In view of the
fact that the accuracy of measured m values depends
largely on the accuracy of wall temperature measure-
ment, only the experimental data were adopted in which
459
the wall temperatures at the top, side(s) and bottom of
the tube were measured by thermocouples or the average
wall temperature was measured by the resistance ther-
mometry. The adopted data were limited to those with
the condensation temperature difference greater than 0.8
K and the temperature rise of cooling water in each sub-
section of the test tube greater than 0.8 K. The uncer-
tainty of the measured m is considered to be 15% or less.
Fig. 2 shows the results of comparison for the Luu and
Bergles [1], Cavallini et al. [2], Yu and Koyama [5], Shi-
kazono et al. [3] and Kedzierski and Goncalves [4]
correlations and the Wang et al. [6] theoretical model. In
these figures the ratios of predicted and measured m are
plotted as a function of . Each symbol in the figure
corresponds to the different combination of tube and
refrigerant as shown in Table 3. The Luu and Bergles [1]
correlation considerably overpredicts m for all cases.
The Cavallini et al. [2] correlation considerably under-
predicts m for tube A and the combination of tube B
and R123, and considerably overpredicts m for tube E.
This indicates that the effects of vapor density and fin
460 H.S. Wang, H. Honda / International Journal of Refrigeration 26 (2003) 452–460
number are not adequately described by the factors R
and F in Eq. (3). The Shikazono et al. correlation [3]
predicts increasingly smaller m as  decreases. This
indicates that the expression for Nub is not adequate.
Table 3 summarizes the results of comparison. The
performance of each correlation and theoretical model
was assessed in terms of the arithmetic mean error,
a.m., and the root-mean-square error, r.m.s., defined as
follows:
1 X m;pre  m;exp
a:m: ¼
100%; ð26Þ [7] Nozu S, Honda H. Condensation of refrigerants in hori-
N m;exp
sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi


1 X m;pre  m;exp 2
r:m:s: ¼
100% ð27Þ [8] Honda H, Wang HS, Nozu S. A theoretical model of film
N m;exp
The value of r.m.s. error for all data decreases in the
order of Luu and Bergles [1], Cavallini et al. [2], Shika-
zono et al. [3], Kedzierski and Goncalves [4], Yu and
Koyama [5] and Wang et al. [6]. It should be mentioned
here that the range of fin dimensions of the six test tubes
is limited. More experimental data for a wide range of
fin dimensions are required to validate the general
applicability of the proposed correlations and theore-
tical model.
5. Conclusions
The predictions of five empirical correlations and one
theoretical model that have been proposed for heat
transfer during condensation in horizontal microfin
tubes were compared with available experimental data
for six tubes and five refrigerants. The tube inside dia-
meter at fin root ranged from 6.49 to 8.88 mm, the fin
height from 0.16 to 0.24 mm, fin pitch from 0.34 to 0.53
mm and helix angle of groove from 12 to 20
. The
refrigerants tested were R11, R123, R134a, R22 and
R410A. The r.m.s. error for all tubes and all refrigerants
decreased in the order of the correlations proposed by
Luu and Bergles [1], Cavallini et al. [2], Shikazono et al.
[3], Kedzierski and Goncalves [4], and Yu and Koyama
[5], and the theoretical model proposed by Wang et al. [6].
References
[1] Luu M, Bergles AE. Enhancement of horizontal in-tube
condensation of refrigerant-113. ASHRAE Trans 1980;
86(pt I):293–312.
[2] Cavallini A, Doretti L, Klammsteiner N, Longo LG,
Rossetto L. Condensation of new refrigerants inside smooth
and enhanced tubes. In: Proc. 19th Int. Cong. Refrigeration,
vol. IV, Hague, The Netherlands, 1995. p. 105–14.
[3] Shikazono N, Itoh M, Uchida M, Fukushima T, Hatada
T. Predictive equation proposal for condensation heat
transfer coefficient of pure refrigerants in horizontal
microfin tubes. Trans Jap Soc Mech Engrs 1998;64:196–
203 [in Japanese].
[4] Kedzierski MA, Goncalves JM. Horizontal convective
condensation of alternative refrigerants within a micro-fin
tube. J Enhanced Heat Transfer 1999;6(2-4):161–78.
[5] Yu J, Koyama S. Condensation heat transfer of pure refriger-
ants in microfin tubes. In: Proc. Int. Refrigeration Conference
at Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, USA, 1998. p. 325–30.
[6] Wang HS, Honda H, Nozu S. Modified theoretical models
of film condensaation in horizontal microfin tubes. Int
J Heat Mass Transfer 2002;45:1513–23.
zontal, spirally grooved microfin tubes: numerical analysis
of heat transfer in annular flow regime. Trans ASME
J Heat Transfer 2000;122:80–91.
condensation in horizontal microfin tubes. Trans ASME
J Heat Transfer 2002;124:94–101.
[9] Boyko LD, Kruzhilin GN. Heat transfer and hydraulic
resistance during condensation of steam in a horizontal
tube and in a bundle of tubes. Int J Heat Mass Transfer
1967;10:361–73.
[10] Cavallini A, Zecchin R. High velocity condensation of
organic refrigerants inside tubes. In: Proc. 8th Int.
Cong. Refrigeration, vol. 2, Brussels, Belgium, 1971. p.
193–200.
[11] Nusselt W. Die Oberflächenkondensation des Wasser-
dampfes. Zeit Ver Deut Ing 1916;60:541–75.
[12] Nozu S, Katayama H, Nakata H, Honda H. Condensation
of a refrigerant CFC11 in horizontal microfin tubes (propo-
sal of a correlation equation for frictional pressure gradient).
Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 1998;18:82–96.
[13] Carnavos TC. Heat transfer performance of internally
finned tubes in turbulent flow. Heat Transfer Engineering
1980;1:32–7.
[14] Taitel Y, Dukler AE. A model for predicting flow regime
transitions in horizontal and near horizontal gas-liquid
flow. AIChE J 1976;22:47–55.
[15] Brauner N, Rovinsky J, Maron DM. Determination of the
interface curvature in stratified two-phase systems by
energy considerations. Int J Multiphase Flow 1996;22:
1167–85.
[16] Smith S.L. Void fraction in two-phase flow: a correlation
based upon an equal velocity head model. Proc. Instn.
Mech. Engrs 1969–1970; 184 (pt. 1): 647–664.
[17] Haraguchi H. Studies on condensation of HCFC-22,
HFC-134a and HCFC-123 in horizontal tubes. Dr. Eng.
thesis, Kyushu University, 1994 [in Japanese].
[18] Hayashi T. Enhancement of condensation of HFC-134a in
horizontal tubes. M. Eng. thesis, Kyushu University, 1998
[in Japanese].
[19] Miyara A, Nonaka K, Taniguchi M. Condensation heat
transfer and flow pattern inside a herringbone-type
microfin tube. Int J Refrigeration 2000;23:141–52 [also
private communication].
[20] Uchida M, Itoh M, Shikazono N, Hatada T, Ohtani T.
Development of high performance microfin tubes (2nd
report: experimental study). In: Proc. 31th Air Cond. and
Refrig. Eng. Joint Conf., Tokyo, Japan, 1997. p. 81–4.
[21] Mine Y. Condensation of R410a in horizontal enhanced
tubes. M. Eng. thesis, Kyushu University 2002, in Japanese.