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International Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration

Vol. 28, No. 4 (2020) 2050033 (8 pages)


© World Scienti¯c Publishing Company
DOI: 10.1142/S2010132520500339

Assessment of a Simpler Friction Factor in an Algebraic


by UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE MINAS GERAIS on 11/25/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

Solution for Adiabatic Coiled Capillary Tubes

Thiago Torres Martins Rocha*, Sara Isabel De Melo Resende†


and Helio Augusto Goulart Diniz‡
Post-Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering
onio Carlos
Federal University of Minas Gerais. Av. Ant^
6627, Pampulha 31270-901, Belo Horizonte
Minas Gerais, Brazil
*thiagotorres.rocha@yahoo.com.br
Int. J. Air-Cond. Ref. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

† _
sara sidmr@yahoo.com.br
‡helioufmg@gmail.com

Fernando Antônio Rodrigues Filho


Post-Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering
Federal Center of Technological Education of
Minas Gerais. Av. Amazonas
5253, Nova Suica, CEP 30421169
Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
77frodrigues@gmail.com

Raphael Nunes De Oliveira


Post-Graduate Program in Mechanical Engineering
onio Carlos
Federal University of Minas Gerais. Av. Ant^
6627, Pampulha 31270-901, Belo Horizonte
Minas Gerais, Brazil
rphnunes@demec.ufmg.br

Received 10 August 2020


Accepted 13 October 2020
Published 25 November 2020

In this work, the performance of an existing algebraic solution for adiabatic coiled capillary tubes,
in subcritical cycles, is investigated. However, the C-M&N friction factor, commonly used, was
replaced by Schmidt friction factor, which is less complex. Two existing dimensionless correlations
were also evaluated for comparison. To assess the e®ect of altering the friction factor, experi-
mental data collected in the literature were used as reference. Analyzing the present results and
that with C-M&N friction factor, it was observed that adopting the Schmidt friction factor does
not cause a relevant impact on the solution. The deviations of the predicted versus experimental
mass °ow rates were comprised in a range between –8% and 12%, with average deviation (AD),
absolute average deviation (AAD) and root mean square (RMS) error of –0.1%, 2.7% and 3.4%,
respectively. The empirical correlations presented unsatisfactory results, with maximum deviation

*Corresponding author.

2050033-1
T. T. M. Rocha et al.

around 40%. Therefore, it was concluded that using the Schmidt friction factor is adequate to
reduce the complexity of the algebraic solution and to maintain the accuracy.

Keywords: Algebraic solution; adiabatic; coiled; capillary tube; Schmidt friction factor.

Nomenclature internal cross-section area. The capillary tube is an


by UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE MINAS GERAIS on 11/25/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

AAD : Absolute average deviation


example of the ¯rst group and consists of a segment
AD : Average deviation of tube with constant cross-section area, with length
Cp : Speci¯c heat at constant pressure (J kg 1 K 1 ) typically varying from 1 to 6 m and inner diameter
CO2 : Carbon dioxide ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 mm.1 The major advantage
C-M&N : Modi¯ed Mori and Nakayama friction factor of capillary tubes over other types of expansion
D : Capillary tube coil diameter (mm)
devices is the lower cost. However, other bene¯ts of
d : Capillary tube inner diameter (mm)
f : Darcy's friction factor (dimensionless) using it are the zero maintenance and lower com-
G : Mass °ux (kg m 2 s 1 Þ pressor starting torque.2 Regarding the geometry,
h : Speci¯c enthalpy (J kg 1 Þ the capillary tubes can be straight or coiled, being
L : Length (mm) this last con¯guration preferred for residential air
Int. J. Air-Cond. Ref. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

m_ : Refrigerant mass °ow rate (kg h 1 Þ conditioners to save space.3 Depending on whether a
M&N : Mori and Nakayama friction factor
heat transfer is desired or not, they can be catego-
p : Pressure (Pa, bar)
Re : Reynolds number (dimensionless) rized as adiabatic or diabatic. Adiabatic capillary
RMS : Root mean square tubes are used in room air conditioners, while dia-
T : Temperature (  C) batic ones are applicable in household refrigerators.4
v : Speci¯c volume (m 3 kg 1 Þ The ¯rst applications of capillary tubes in do-
mestic refrigerators date from the 1920s. However,
Greek Symbols its dissemination occurred in the early 1930s.5 At
that time, the process of designing and selecting a
" : Surface roughness (m) capillary tube was based on a trial and error method
 : Dynamic viscosity (Pas)
 : Density (kg m 3 Þ
in which the tube was cut and shortened until one
 : Surface tension (N m 1 Þ ¯nds a workable capillary.6 This fact evidences one
of the major drawbacks of capillary tubes: once it is
installed, it is not possible to modify or to regulate it
Subscripts and, therefore, the proper sizing before installation
c : Coiled capillary tube is essential to the system performance. In this sense,
f : Saturated liquid during the last decades, many researches, compris-
g : Saturated vapor
ing experimental and theoretical investigations,
in : Capillary tube inlet
out : Capillary tube outlet have been made to analyze the refrigerant °ow
r : Flash point characteristics inside capillary tubes. Di®erent
s : Straight capillary tube approaches are used to study these components,
sp : Single-phase being the most common the numerical models, the
sub : Subcooling degree dimensionless correlations, and the algebraic solu-
tp : Two-phase
tions. Often, the mass °ow rate prediction through
the capillary tube is the most desirable information.
1. Introduction Numerical models try to represent the physical
behavior of the refrigerant °ow phenomenon,
The expansion device is one of the main components
mathematically, and due to this, they can be more
in a vapor-compression refrigeration/heat pump
system. It connects the outlet of the condenser to the or less complex depending on the assumptions made.
inlet of the evaporator and regulates the refrige- Generally, ¯nite di®erences or ¯nite volumes meth-
rant mass °ow rate, while promoting a pressure ods are employed to solve the set of mass and energy
drop. These devices can be classi¯ed as ¯xed and conservation equations and momentum equation.
adjustable, according to its capacity to variate the They are popular among researchers due to its

2050033-2
Assessment of a Simpler Friction Factor in an Algebraic Solution

Table 1. Summary of papers employing numerical models, dimensionless correlations and algebraic solutions to study adiabatic
capillary tubes.

Authors Approach Refrigerant Shape Coiled friction factor Remarks

Nunes et al.14 Numerical R744 Straight — 100% of data predicted within


 10% error band
Wang et al.15 Numerical R744 Straight and M&N, C-M&N, 97% of data within  15%
by UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE MINAS GERAIS on 11/25/20. Re-use and distribution is strictly not permitted, except for Open Access articles.

coiled Schmidt error band (C-M&N)


Jadhav and Agrawal16 Numerical R744 Coiled M&N Deviations within 0%
and þ2:5%
Zareh et al.17 Numerical R22 Straight and C-M&N AD of 4.5% (coiled)
coiled and 5% (straight)
García-Valladares18 Numerical R22, R407C, R410A Coiled C-M&N AD of 2.4%
Chingulpitak Numerical R22, R407C, R410A Coiled 26 di®erent friction Better results with M&N and
and Wongwises12 factors Schmidt friction factors
Yang and Zhang19 Dimensionless R12, R22, R134a, Straight — 80.7% of data predicted within
correlation R407C, R410A,  10% error band
R600a, R744
Rocha et al.9 Dimensionless R744 Straight — 83.6% of data predicted within
correlation  10% error band
Int. J. Air-Cond. Ref. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

Kim et al.20 Dimensionless R22, R407C, R410A Straight and — Deviations within 11.7% and
correlation coiled þ8.2% for coiled tubes
with R22
Rasti and Jeong21 Dimensionless R22, R134a, R600a Straight and — AAD of 6.85%
correlation coiled
Hermes et al.22 Algebraic R744 Straight — 94% of data predicted within
 10% error band
Hermes et al.23 Algebraic R134a and R600a Straight — 89.1% of data predicted within
 10% error band
Rocha et al.13 Algebraic R22 Coiled C-M&N 100% of data predicted within
 15% error band
Rocha et al.24 Algebraic R744 Coiled M&N, C-M&N, 95% of data predicted within
Schmidt  10% error band (C-M&N);
100% of data predicted within
 12% error band (Schmidt)

general mechanism and acceptable precision.7 On during the experiments, the correlation will incor-
the other hand, they are time consuming and require porate this information. This is especially important
some programming skills.8 Some studies employing to be observed when the data of multiple refriger-
this technique can be seen in Table 1. Straight and ants are used to generate a single correlation.
coiled capillary tubes have been studied, in a variety Table 1 summarizes some studies employing this
of assumptions. Overall, the percentage of predicted technique. As can be noted, single °uid correlations
mass °ow rate points in a 15% error band was tend to perform better. However, the overall per-
higher than 97%. formance is worse than numerical models.
The dimensionless correlations can be derived As the numerical models, algebraic solutions are
from the combination of a physical and experimen- based on a physical description, they need more
tal background, semi-empirical or from a totally assumptions to be solved analytically. They are able
experimental, empirical, method.9 In this approach, to balance the generality of numerical models with
dimensionless groups are formed, majority, by using the simplicity of empirical correlations.8 This strat-
the Buckingham-Pi-Theorem,10 grouped, and ¯tted egy was introduced by Yilmaz and Unal11 and most
to experimental data. Once the correlation is avail- of the subsequent investigations were based on their
able, it can be easily used. However, the dimen- work. Some relevant papers with this technique are
sionless correlations can be employed only within also shown in Table 1. As can be seen, the perfor-
the limits that have originated them. Another major mance of these equations is comparable to that of
drawback is that if some kind of bias was present numerical models. Then, since this strategy does not

2050033-3
T. T. M. Rocha et al.

require the usage of a programming software, it turns proposed by Yilmaz and Unal,11 as seen in Eq. (1),
out to be more attractive for engineering applications. rewritten for the mass °ow rate prediction with
From Table 1, one can also note that the C-M&N subcooled inlet condition. This solution considers
friction factor is the most commonly employed for the following assumptions:
coiled capillary tubes, due to its good performance in
. One-dimensional steady-state °ow;
this application. On the other hand, it is more
. Homogeneous two-phase °ow;
complex than other friction factors, being comprised
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. Metastability phenomenon neglected;


by a set of four equations, used in three steps. It
. Isenthalpic throttling process;
consists of a modi¯cation of the Mori and Nakayama
. Constant cross-section area and uniform surface
(M&N) friction factor, to account for the surface
roughness of the capillary tube;
roughness e®ect. Reference 12 concluded that
. Flow of pure refrigerant, i.e., absence of water,
among 26 options, the M&N and Schmidt friction
compressor oil and other impurities;
factors were the best alternatives, explaining the
. Pressure drop at the entrance and exit of the
crescent popularity of these factors.
capillary tube neglected.
In this work, the algebraic solution proposed by
Rocha et al.,13 for adiabatic coiled capillary tubes, in Besides, they also replaced the k factor by that of
subcritical cycles, is investigated. The authors con- Zhang and Ding,26 seen in Eq. (2).
Int. J. Air-Cond. Ref. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

sidered the C-M&N friction factor, which, despite vffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi


u 
presenting satisfactory results, is quite complex. u pin  pr
Therefore, the major objective is to verify if the re- u
u fsp vr
placement of the C-M&N friction factor with a less u 2p 3
u
complicated one, such as the Schmidt friction factor, u out
1
u 6 pr 7
is feasible to maintain a good performance, making u pr 6  7
u
it even easier for designers. Furthermore, two u f v ð1  kÞ 6 kln k þ ð1  kÞ pout 7
6
7
u 4
existing dimensionless correlations, collected in the u
tp r
pr 5
u 
literature, were assessed to compare their perfor- G¼u
u 0 1k 1 ;
mance with that of the proposed solution. u
u L 1 B pout =pr C
u  ln@
t 2d ftp pout A
k þ ð1  kÞ
2. Coiled Capillary Tube Solutions pr
ð1Þ
2.1. Capillary tube algebraic solution
Several studies are available to understand straight k ¼ 1:63  10 5 p 0:72
r ; ð2Þ
capillary tubes operating in subcritical systems. where f is Darcy's friction factor, G is the mass °ux, L
However, coiled capillary tubes are preferred for is the capillary tube length, d is the capillary inner
commercial applications to save space. Changes in diameter, p is the pressure and v is the speci¯c volume.
the friction factor equations must be made so that a The subscript in represents the capillary tube inlet, out
solution for straight tubes can also be applied for is capillary tube outlet, r is the °ash point, tp is related
coiled capillary tubes.25 Figure 1 illustrates a coiled to two-phase and sp is associated to single-phase.
capillary tube, as that is under investigation in this In their study, to account for the coiling e®ect,
study. the C-M&N friction factor was used. However, in
For the adiabatic coiled capillary tubes, the study this work, Schmidt friction factor, Eqs. (3) and (4),
of Rocha et al.,13 was considered. The authors cited by Chingulpitak and Wongwises,12 was added
adapted the algebraic equation for straight tubes to the solution. The same friction factor will be ap-
plied for the single- and two-phase regions.
fc
¼ 1 þ 0:14Re x ; ð3Þ
fs
    0:97
1  0:0644 D
x¼ ; ð4Þ
Fig. 1. Sketch of a coiled capillary tube. ð D  dÞ 0:312 d

2050033-4
Assessment of a Simpler Friction Factor in an Algebraic Solution

where D is the coil diameter of the capillary tube 1 1
logðÞ ¼ f3m logð2m þ 1Þ
and Re is the Reynolds number, given by Eq. (5). mþ1 4
The subscript c stands for the coiled capillary tube þ ð15m þ 4Þ logðmÞ
and s is related to the straight capillary tube. fs is
þ ð19m  4Þ logð2m  1Þ
computed by Churchill27 correlation, Eqs. (6)–(8). ; ð13Þ
 ð7m  4Þ logð4m  1Þ
Gd 4m_
Re ¼ ¼ ; ð5Þ  m logð6m  1Þ  9m logð2Þg
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 d
"  12 # 1=12 þ m logðÞ
8 1
fs ¼ 8 þ ; ð6Þ
Re ðA þ BÞ 3=2 where m and  are the coe±cients of Blasius' cor-
2 0 13 16 relation, Eq. (14), for a straight tube.
6 B C7
6 B 1 C7 fs ¼ Re 1=m ð14Þ
A ¼ 62:457 ln B   0:9 C7 ; ð7Þ
4 @ 7 0:27" A5
þ According to Mori and Nakayama,28 m and 
Re d
  16 assume the values as presented in the following
Int. J. Air-Cond. Ref. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

37530 equations:
B¼ ; ð8Þ
Re
If Re < 100; 000 :  ¼ 0:316 and m ¼ 4; ð15Þ
where  is the dynamic viscosity and m_ is the re-
frigerant mass °ow rate. For the single-phase region, If Re > 100; 000 :  ¼ 0:184 and m ¼ 5: ð16Þ
 is the average of the inlet and °ash point viscosi-
ties, Eq. (9), while for the two-phase region, it is Since the M&N friction factor does not consider
calculated by Eq. (10)11 the surface roughness, the C-M&N friction factor is,
generally, preferred. It consists in a three-step se-
in þ r
sp ¼ ; ð9Þ quence, as follows:
2
  (i) To calculate fs according to Churchill's cor-
8 1  ðpout =pr Þ 7=8
tp ¼ r : ð10Þ relation, Eqs. (6)–(8);
7 1  ðpout =pr Þ (ii) To introduce fs from step (i) and the value of
If the C-M&N friction factor was used instead of m (4 or 5 according to ReÞ in Blasius' cor-
Schmidt, the ¯rst step would be to replace Eqs. (3) relation, Eq. (14). Then, calculate ;
and (4) by M&N friction factor, Eqs. (11)–(13). (iii) With the calculated  and the corresponding
8 9 m, to calculate the coiled friction factor by
>
> >
> M&N correlation, Eqs. (11)–(13).
>
> >
>
rffiffiffiffiffi >
> >
>
>
< >
=
D   Therefore, it can be noted that using Schmidt fric-
fc ¼ 1þ ;
d " 1 > 1 > tion factor results in a faster and easier implemen-
  m=2 # >
> "   m=2 # >
>
d mþ1 >
>
>
> d mþ1>
>
>
>
tation. Besides, this solution can be easily
Re : Re ;
D D implemented in a spreadsheet.
ð11Þ

1 1 2.2. Existing dimensionless correlations
logðÞ ¼ f3 logð2m þ 1Þ
mþ1 4 for coiled capillary tubes
þ ð16m  7Þ logð2m  1Þ
In order to do a broader comparison with other
 ð8m  3Þ½logðmÞ þ logð4m  1Þ ; ð12Þ solutions for coiled capillary tubes, two empirical
þ logð6m  1Þ þ 9 logð2Þg correlations were selected. The ¯rst is that of Kim
et al.,29 seen in Eq. (17), while the second is that
þ m logðÞ presented by Rasti and Jeong,21 Eq. (18). The di-
mensionless Pi groups are seen in Table 2 and the

2050033-5
T. T. M. Rocha et al.

Table 2. Dimensionless Pi groups used in Eqs. (17) and (18). Table 3. Ranges for the capillary tube dimensions
and operational conditions of Zhou and Zhang.25
Groups Eq. (17)–Ref. 20 Eq. (18)–Ref. 21
Capillary tube
1 d 2 pin L
 2f vf d L (m) d (mm) D (mm) " (m)
2 L d 2 hfg
d  2f v 2f 0.5–2 1–2.2 40–600 0.25–2.55
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3 Tsub d 2 Cp;f d
Operational conditions
 2f v 2f  2f vf
4 d 2 hfg d 2 pin pin (bar) pout (bar) Tin (  C) " (kg/h)
 2f v 2f  2f vf
5 d ðhin  hf Þ 16.1–21.27 6.22 32–49 16.29–122.07

 2f vf hfg
6 D vg Table 4. Comparison of the results with Schmidt friction
d vf factor, C-M&N friction factor, Eqs. (17) and (18).
7 m_ f  g
df g Present Rocha
8 — m_ study — Schmidt et al.,13 — C-M&N Eq. Eq.
df friction factor friction factor (17) (18)
Int. J. Air-Cond. Ref. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

9 — L
1þ AD (%) –0.1 1.1 16.1 14.1
D
AAD (%) 2.7 2.6 16.1 14.4
RMS (%) 3.4 3.2 6.8 9.5
experimental ranges used to derive the correlations  5% 95.5 — 8.9 13.3
can be seen in the original papers.  10% 97.8 — 22.2 28.9
 15% 100 100 40.0 62.2
7 ¼ 0:0081 10:1046  0:0182
2  0:3903
3  0:8836
4  0:1396
5  0:6712
6 ;
ð17Þ The average deviation (AD), the absolute aver-
8 ¼ 150:26 0:5708
1  1:4636
2  41:953  0:6436
5  1:4181
6  90:0158 : age deviation (AAD) and the root mean square error
(RMS) were calculated according to Eqs. (19)–(21),
ð18Þ respectively. They are shown in Table 4, together
with the percentage of points predicted in error
bands of 5%; 10% and 15%. The results pre-
3. Results and Discussion
sented with the C-M&N friction factor and by the
The solution described in Sec. 2.1 should be, a two empirical correlations, Eqs. (17) and (18), are
priori, suitable for di®erent °uids working in sub- also shown in Table 4, for comparison.
critical cycles. In the last decade, R744 (tran- !
1 X m_ predicted  m_ measured
scritical), R290, R600a and R1234yf have been the AD ¼ 100% ; ð19Þ
most studied low GWP refrigerant °uids, according n n m_ measured
to the published papers on specialized journals and

!
conferences.30 However, concerning coiled capillary 1 X

m_ predicted  m_ measured

AAD ¼ 100%
;
tubes, there is a lack of experimental studies n n
m_ measured
employing these °uids, as recently discussed in ð20Þ
Ref. 13. Therefore, to verify the feasibility of using sffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
  2ffi
Schmidt friction factor with the algebraic solution 1 X m_ predicted  m_ measured
RMS ¼ 100% AD
for adiabatic coiled capillary tubes, 45 experimental n1 n m_ measured
points for mass °ow rate of R22, provided by Zhou
and Zhang,25 were used as reference. The ranges for ð21Þ
the capillary tubes dimensions and the operational
conditions can be seen in Table 3. All thermo- The results presented in Table 4 showed that
physical properties required to calculate the using the Schmidt friction factor has no signi¯cant
predicted mass °ow rates were obtained with the impact on the algebraic solution performance. The
software REFPROP.31 AD of 0:1% (Schmidt) versus the 1.1% (C-M&N)

2050033-6
Assessment of a Simpler Friction Factor in an Algebraic Solution

indicates a slightly improvement, with almost no accuracy, the Schmidt friction factor is recom-
di®erence for the AAD and RMS. For instance, in a mended to be used with the algebraic solution
recent study of Rocha et al.,24 the algebraic solution for adiabatic coiled capillary tubes, in subcritical
for transcritical carbon dioxide, experimentally cycle.
validated (60 datasets), also presented a close per-
formance using Schmidt friction factor, compared
with that using the C-M&N friction factor. The AD, 4. Conclusions
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AAD and RMS were 3:0%, 5.3%, 5.6% and 0.1%, In this work, an existing solution for adiabatic coiled
4.4%, 5.6% for the ¯rst and second factors, respec- capillary tubes, proposed by Rocha et al.,13 was
tively, while the percentage of points predicted in an assessed with a di®erent and simpler friction factor,
error band of 15% was 100% for both cases. They namely, Schmidt. The main objective was to verify if
a±rmed that Schmidt friction factor is also a good the performance would be kept in a satisfactory
choice for the proposed solution. level. Two existing empirical correlations were also
Concerning the results of Eqs. (17) and (18), it evaluated. The mass °ow rate predictions were
can be noted that the latter showed a better per- compared to experimental data for R22, collected in
formance compared with the former. However, both the literature. The results showed that the metrics
presented worse results compared with the algebraic with the new adopted friction factor had almost no
Int. J. Air-Cond. Ref. Downloaded from www.worldscientific.com

solution. It is expected that empirical correlations change, with a little improvement in the AD, from
derived from data of di®erent refrigerant °uids, 1.1% — C-M&N friction factor, to –0.1% —
taking advantage of their generality, su®er with the Schmidt friction factor. The percentage of points in
loss in accuracy when employed for a speci¯c °uid. a 5% error band was 95.5%. On the other hand,
Another disadvantage is that they may not be the empirical correlations showed AD greater than
suitable to be employed outside the limits that have 14%, with only 13.3% of points being predicted
originated them. These two facts can explain the within 5% of error. Consequently, the adoption of
poor performance showed by these correlations. Schmidt friction factor in the algebraic solution for
The deviations of the predictions versus the adiabatic coiled capillary tubes was found to be ef-
measured mass °ow rates for all points can be seen fective to reduce the complexity of this solution,
in Fig. 2. It is possible to see that the deviations of making it an even more interesting tool for engi-
all points for the algebraic solution with Schmidt neering applications. Nevertheless, as experimental
friction factor are comprised in a range between 8% data for other refrigerants °owing in coiled capillary
and 12%, approximately, which can be considered tubes become available in the literature, it is
a good performance. On the other hand, the em- also recommended to verify the performance of the
pirical correlations showed maximum deviations proposed solution with such °uids, to endorse, or
around 40%. Therefore, due to its simplicity and not, these ¯ndings.

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