Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 669–680

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Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/etfs

Influence of 0° helix angle micro fins on flow and heat transfer of R32
evaporating in a horizontal mini multichannel flat tube
Xiaomin Wu ⇑, Yu Zhu, Xiujie Huang
Key Laboratory for Thermal Science and Power Engineering of Ministry of Education, Beijing Key Laboratory of CO2 Utilization and Reduction Technology, Department of
Thermal Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: The heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of R32 were experimentally investigated for flow
Received 6 February 2015 boiling in a mini multichannel flat tube with 0° helix angle micro fins that are aligned with the flow
Received in revised form 9 July 2015 direction. The micro-fin tube has an inner diameter of 1.7 mm with thirteen 0.16 mm high fins. The
Accepted 14 July 2015
working conditions were mass fluxes of 100–400 kg m2 s1, heat fluxes of 10–40 kW m2 and saturation
Available online 21 July 2015
temperatures of 10–20 °C. The results show that in the micro-fin tube with 0° helix angle, the flow boiling
heat transfer coefficient of R32 increases with increasing mass flux, heat flux and saturation temperature.
Keywords:
The heat transfer is affected by two dryout points, but the fins delay the totally dryout point. The pressure
Micro fin
Heat transfer
drop increases with increasing mass flux and heat flux or decreasing saturation temperature. The critical
Pressure drop vapor qualities for the pressure drop in the micro-fin tube are lower than in the smooth tube. The 0° helix
R32 angle fins enhance the heat transfer for R32 flow boiling in the tube by 60% while increasing the pressure
Zero helix angle drop by 40% on average compared with a smooth tube.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Micro-fin tubes were first developed by Hitachi Cable [1], and
have been proven to be very effective for enhancing the heat trans-
fer and reducing heat exchanger size in refrigeration and
air-conditioning systems. A micro-fin tube usually has dozens of
fins (usually 10–60) on the tube inner surface with the fin helix
at an angle (usually 5–60°) to the axial direction. The heat transfer
enhancement of the micro fins on heat transfer is mainly attributed
to the fins providing much more heat transfer area (up to twice
that in a smooth tube with the same inner diameter [2,3]) and
the disruption of the boundary layer. However, the fins also create
extra flow resistance with the form drag caused by the helix
angle being a major contribution. At smaller tube diameters, the
enhancement due to the boundary layer disruption on the heat
transfer vanishes, because the liquid film thickness attached on
the tube perimeter approaches the boundary layer thickness.
Therefore, 0° helix angle fins may be a promising heat transfer
enhancement structure in mini tubes. Tubes with 0° helix angle
fins have as much heat transfer area as conventional micro-fin
tubes; thus, they should provide similar heat transfer enhance-
ment as conventional micro-fin tubes while the fins are in the
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel./fax: +86 10 6277 0558.
E-mail address: wuxiaomin@mail.tsinghua.edu.cn (X.M. Wu).
same direction as the flow (0° helix angle), which reduces the form
drag and the pressure drop. Therefore, the micro-fin tubes with 0°
helix angle fins should have potential for enhancing refrigerant
flow boiling heat transfer in refrigeration systems.
R32, one of the substitutes for R22, has key advantages over the
other substitutions. Table 1 lists R32 and other fluids environmen-
tal indexes, including Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP), Global
Warming Potential (GWP), Relative Charge (RC), Carbon Dioxide
Equivalence (CDE) and Lower Flammability Limit (LFL). In addition,
operating parameters of R32 and other substitutions at standard
air conditioning conditions in ARI Standard 520 (evaporation tem-
perature of 7.2 °C, condensation temperature of 54.4 °C, superheat
degree of 11.1 °C, supercooling degree of 8.3 °C, and isentropic effi-
ciency of 0.75) were calculated as also shown in Table 1. For further
comparisons, the thermophysical properties of R32 and other flu-
ids at 7.2 °C evaporation temperature were calculated using
REFPROP software, as shown in Table 2. In terms of environmental
protection, R32 has zero ODP (ozone depletion potential) and
lower GWP (global warming potential) than other refrigerants,
such as R410A, R407C or R134a. In addition, R32 charges are less
than those of other refrigerants, such as R410A, R407C or R134a,
which should also reduce the environment impact [4]. In terms
of the thermodynamic performance, existing studies [5] have
shown that R32 has a higher volumetric capacity than R410A,
R407C, R134a and R290, and its COP (coefficient of performance)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.expthermflusci.2015.07.010
0894-1777/Ó 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
670 X.M. Wu et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 669–680

Table 1
Environmental indexes and operating parameters of R32 and the other fluids.

R OPD (–) GWP (–) RC (–) CDE (–) LFL (kg m3) EP (MPa) CP (MPa) DT (°C) TG (°C) COP (–) VC (kJ m3)
R22 0.034 1810 1.0 1810 – 0.63 2.18 100.4 0 3.43 3779
R32 0 675 0.6 405 0.306 1.03 3.52 122.2 0 3.15 5876
R410A 0 2100 0.84 1764 – 1.04 3.49 97.6 0.1 2.99 5212
R407C 0 1800 1.0 1800 – 0.68 2.49 89.1 4.7 3.12 3750
R134a 0 1430 1.18 1687 – 0.38 1.48 78.4 0 3.44 2401
R290 0 20 0.51 10.2 0.038 0.59 1.90 77.7 0 3.34 3095
R = Refrigerant EP = Evaporation pressure
ODP = Ozone depletion potential CP = Condensation pressure
GWP = Global warming potential DT = Discharge temperature
RC = Relative charge TG = Temperature glide
CDE = Carbon dioxide equivalence COP = Coefficient of performance
LFL = Lower flammability limit VC = Volumetric capacity

Table 2
Thermophysical properties of R32 and the other fluids at 7.2 °C evaporation temperature.

R ql  103 qv  103 ll  104 lv  104 r  103 cp,l  103 cp,v  103 kl  102 kv  102 hlv  105
(kg m3) (kg m3) (Pa s) (Pa s) (N m1) (J kg1 K1) (J kg1 K1) (W m1 K1) (W m1 K1) (J kg1)
R22 1.26 0.0265 2.00 0.117 10.6 1.19 0.771 9.15 0.991 1.99
R32 1.21 0.0277 1.39 0.119 9.73 1.79 1.33 14.0 1.25 3.04
R410A 1.14 0.0384 1.48 0.126 7.90 1.56 1.20 9.90 1.29 2.12
R407C 1.21 0.0251 1.93 0.116 9.76 1.44 1.00 9.27 1.27 2.03
R134a 1.27 0.0184 2.43 0.110 10.5 1.36 0.931 8.88 1.22 1.93
R290 0.519 0.0127 1.17 0.0767 9.21 2.55 1.81 10.2 1.66 3.64

is higher than with R410A or R407C. In terms of accessibility, R32
is less expensive than other refrigerants because the R32 produc-
tion process is similar to that of R22. Therefore, the present study
focuses on the R32 flow boiling characteristics in a micro-fin mini
tube with 0° helix angle.
Most existing studies of R32 evaporation have used pure R32
or mixtures of R32 and other fluids with flow boiling in smooth
tubes [6–9] or pure R32 pool boiling outside smooth and
enhanced tubes [10]. Shin et al. [6] experimentally investigated
the flow boiling characteristics of R32 and two other refrigerants
in a 7.7 mm diameter stainless steel tube. The results showed that
the heat transfer coefficients of R32 were higher than those of R22
and R134a for the same conditions. Jung et al. [10] conducted
experiments on pool boiling of R32 and other working fluids on
a 19 mm diameter smooth tube, a micro-fin tube and two other
kinds of enhanced tubes. They also showed that the pool boiling
heat transfer coefficient of R32 was higher than for the other
refrigerants. Bortolin et al. [7] studied the heat transfer character-
istics of R32 and R134a for flow boiling in a 0.96 mm diameter
copper tube and found that the heat transfer coefficient of R32
was about 40% higher than that of R134a, but the pressure drop
was lower. Li et al. [8,9] investigated mixtures of R32 and
HFO1234yf for flow boiling in a 2 mm diameter stainless steel
tube and found that the heat transfer was enhanced with increas-
ing R32 mass fraction.
The aim of this study is to investigate the influence of 0° helix
angle micro fins on the flow and heat transfer characteristics of
R32 evaporating in a mini multichannel flat tube, including the
effects of the working conditions on the heat transfer and pressure
drop characteristics and the differences between the heat transfer
and pressure drop characteristics in such a micro-fin tube and in a
smooth tube.
2. Experiments
2.1. Test sections
A test section schematic is shown in Fig. 1. The test section was
a 1035 aluminum flat tube with eight 1.7 mm diameter round
channels. Each channel had thirteen 0.16 mm height fins with 0°
helix angle, so the fins were aligned with the flow. The detailed
geometry of the micro-fin channel can be seen in Fig. 1b and
Table 3. The test section was 530 mm long with a heated length
of 460 mm. An electric heating tape was wrapped around the tube,
and the heat addition to the test section was varied by adjusting
the input power supplied by a DH1716-2D DC power supply. The
test sections were insulated with fiber glass wool and a 2 cm
thickness layer of rubber foam.
Eighteen thermocouples were fixed to the outer surface of the
test section at three cross sections as shown in Fig. 1a. Each cross
section had three thermocouples fixed to the upper surface and
three fixed to the lower surface. One thermocouple was fixed in
the center and two were fixed 5 mm distant on both surfaces.
This thermocouple layout ensured measurement of the mean sur-
face temperature at each test section. Around 0.2 mm deep holes
were dig on the flat tube outer surface at the eighteen positions.
The thermocouples were welded in the holes and covered by epoxy
resin to minimize the influence of the electrical heating wire on the
temperature measurements.
The first cross section of the temperature measurements was
135 mm from the refrigerant inlet to avoid the entrance effect. It
is believed that, for turbulent flow, the heat transfer coefficients
are not affected by entrance effects when l/d > 60 where l is the
length from the inlet and d is the channel hydraulic diameter. To
the authors’ knowledge, for two-phase flow, there is no universal
criterion for the definition of the entrance region length, but the
authors think that the entrance region length is smaller than 60
times of d for two-phase flow because the hydraulic diameter for
either phase is smaller than d. In the present study, for the multi-
port flat tube, the length from the inlet to the first thermocouple is
135 mm which is longer than 60 times of the inner diameter
(1.7 mm).
The multiport flat tube test section and the experimental rig
were connected using two pressure taps which are schematically
shown in Fig. 2. Eight holes were dig on the upper surface of the
flat tube which was then plugged into a tapered passage from
one side of the pressure tap. The gap between tapered passage
and the flat tube was filled with thread seal tape for sealing. The
 X.M. Wu et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 669–680 671

Fig. 1. Geometry of the micro-fin tube (unit: mm): (a) side view; (b) end view.

Table 3
Geometry of the micro-fin channel and the smooth channel.

Number of Inner diameter D (m) Cross section area of Perimeter of each Fin height H (mm) Number of fins Helix angle b (°)
channels each channel Ao (mm2) channel lo (mm)
Micro-fin channel 8 1.7 2.02 7.76 0.16 13 0
Smooth channel 1 2.0 3.14 6.28 – – –

Channel that connects the pressure transmitter

Channel that connects
and the pressure difference transmitter
the preheater or the condenser A

Multiport
flat tube Holes

Gap that filled with

thread seal tape

A-A
A

Fig. 2. Schematic of the pressure tap.

other side of the pressure tap connects the preheater or the con-
denser. A passage on the upper part of the pressure tap connects
the eight holes on the flat tube and the pressure transmitter and
the pressure difference transmitter. The pressure drop measure-
ments were performed between the two pressure taps. The
designed structure ensures little influence of the pressure taps on
the pressure measurements.
The R32 flow boiling heat transfer and pressure drop character-
istics with 0° helix angle fins were then compared with the R32
flow boiling in a 316 stainless smooth tube. The smooth tube had
inner and outer diameters of 2 and 3 mm and a length of
700 mm as shown in Fig. 3. The test section was heated by direct
electric current applied on the tube wall where the electrical con-
necters were welded. The test sections were insulated with fiber
glass wool and a 2 cm thickness layer of rubber foam. Twelve ther-
mocouples were attached to the tube outer surface at three cross
sections with each cross section having four thermocouples at
the top, bottom and two sides of the tube as shown in Fig. 3.
Around 0.2 mm deep holes were dig on the flat tube outer surface
at the twelve positions. The thermocouples were welded in the
holes and covered by epoxy resin to minimize the influence of
the electrical heating wire on the temperature measurements.
The length from the inlet to the first thermocouple is 250 mm
which is longer than 60 times of the inner diameter (2.0 mm).
2.2. Experimental rig
The experimental rig consisted of a refrigerant circulation
system, a refrigeration system for cooling and condensing the
refrigerant and a measurement system, as shown in Fig. 4.
The refrigerant circulation system included a liquid reservoir, a
pump, a preheater, a condenser and the test section. The subcooled
R32 flowed out of the liquid receiver and then through the mass
flowmeter to measure the refrigerant mass flux. Then, the refriger-
ant flowed into the preheater and was heated to the desired tem-
perature and vapor quality at the outlet. Then, the refrigerant
flowed into the test section and was heated by a preset heat flux
controlled by the power supply voltage. At last, the two-phase
refrigerant flowed into the condenser to be cooled to a subcooled
672 X.M. Wu et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 669–680

Fig. 3. Geometry of the smooth tube (unit: mm): (a) side view; (b) end view.

Refrigeration Refrigeration
unit unit

P T Condenser

Liquid receiver

P
T

Pump

Electromagnetic Mass flow meter

valve ΔP
P T
Pre heater T Test section P T

Electromagnetic
valve

Power supply Power supply

Fig. 4. Schematic of the experimental rig.

liquid and back into the liquid reservoir to complete the refrigera-
tion cycle.
The refrigeration system included two Greatwall DLSB
series low-temperature liquid pumps (Model: DLSB-5/20 and
DLSB-10/20) to cool the condenser and the liquid reservoir. Their
temperature regulation ranges were both ±50 °C with an accuracy
of ±1 °C while their refrigerating capacities were 242–920 W and
200–2600 W.
The measurement system measured the refrigerant mass flow
rate, temperatures, pressures and heating powers. The mass flow
rate was measured using a Sincerity DMF-1-1.5 Coriolis mass flow
meter with a range of 0–20 kg h1 and an accuracy of 0.001 kg h1.
The temperature measurements included the refrigerant tempera-
tures at the liquid receiver outlet, the preheater inlet, the test
section outlet, the condenser outlet and the tube outer surface
temperature of the test section. The refrigerant temperatures were
measured using calibrated platinum resistance thermometers with
accuracies of ±0.1 °C. The tube surface temperatures were
measured using 0.2 mm diameter calibrated T-type thermocouples
with accuracies of ±0.1 °C. The pressure measurements include the
refrigerant pressures at the pump outlet, the preheater inlet, the
test section outlet, the condenser outlet and the pressure differ-
ence between the test section inlet and outlet. The refrigerant pres-
sure at the pump outlet was measured using an electronic pressure
gauge with range of 0–16 MPa and accuracy of 0.25 MPa. Two
7 MPa electromagnetic valves were connected to the pump. The
pressures at the preheater inlet and the condenser outlet were
measured using precision pressure gauges with ranges of
0–10 MPa and accuracies of 0.1 MPa. The pressure at the test
section outlet was measured using a Yokogawa EJA430A pressure
transmitter with set span of 0.03–3 MPa and an accuracy of
±0.065%. The pressure difference between the test section inlet
and outlet was measured using a Yokogawa EJA110A pressure
difference transmitter with set span of 1–100 kPa and an accuracy
of ±0.065%. The heating power to the test sections was measured
using a Yokogawa WT210 Digital Power Meter with range of
 X.M. Wu et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 669–680 673

  
0–5 kW and an accuracy of ±0.1%. By maintaining the temperature x x 1x
e¼ ð1 þ 0:12ð1  xÞÞ þ
fluctuations smaller than ±0.15 °C and all the pressure fluctuations qv qv ql
smaller than ±0.02 MPa for 10 min, the system was considered as #
1=4 1
1:18ð1  xÞ½g rðql  qv Þ
steady. No back flow was detected during the experiments maybe þ ð4Þ
1=2
because of the relatively low heat flux conditions. The data were Gql
collected by an Agilent 34970A data acquisition system.
2.4. Working conditions
2.3. Data reduction
The working conditions for the two test sections were mass
2.3.1. Heat transfer coefficient fluxes of 100–400 kg m2 s1, heat fluxes of 10–40 kW m2 and
The local heat transfer coefficient, h, was calculated by saturation temperatures of 10–20 °C as listed in Table 4.
Newton’s law of cooling
Q =A 2.5. Uncertainty analysis
h¼ ð1Þ
T wi  T sat
2.5.1. Heat transfer coefficient
where Q is the heat addition, W; A is the tube inner heated surface The method proposed by Moffat [13] was used to calculate
area, m2; Tsat is the saturation temperature corresponding to the the maximum relative uncertainties of the experimental data.
test section mean pressure calculated based on the measured outlet According Eq. (1), the relative uncertainty of the heat transfer
pressure and the pressure difference between the inlet and outlet, coefficient was calculated by
°C; Twi is the mean temperature of inner tube wall, °C. As the heat "   2   #0:5
supply method for the micro-fin tube and that for the smooth tube Dh DQ 2 DA DðT wi  T sat Þ 2
are different, the calculations of Twi for the two test sections are ¼ þ þ ð5Þ
h Q A T wi  T sat
different, and are shown in Appendix A.
It is worth noting that the outer channels present higher net For the micro-fin tube, the heat addition Q (=U2/R) was calcu-
heat flux in comparison with the inner channels, because the lated by the voltage (U) and resistance (R) of the electric resistance
heated perimeter of the outer channels is larger than of the inner wire. The voltage was measured by a self-coupling voltage regula-
channels. Thus, the mass flux of the outer channels would be a tor with output accuracy of ±1 V and the minimum voltage was
bit smaller than that of the inner channels for the same pressure 100 V in the experiments. The resistance was measured by a mul-
difference between inlet and outlet, because the vapor generation timeter with accuracy of ±0.1 X and the minimum resistance was
is higher along the outer channel. The present study focuses on the 100.5 X in the experiments. So the maximum relative uncertainty
heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of the whole tube, of Q was smaller than 2.1%.
so such influence is not taken into consideration. The heat transfer area A (=pDL) was calculated by the channel
inner diameter (D) and the tube length (L). The channel inner
2.3.2. Pressure drop diameter was measured by a vernier caliper with accuracy of
The total pressure drop (DP) during flow boiling in the channel ±0.02 mm and the inner diameter was 1.7 mm. The tube length
included the frictional pressure drop (DPf), acceleration pressure was measured by a ruler with accuracy of ±0.1 mm and the heated
drop (DPa) and gravitational pressure drop (DPg). Thus, the fric- length was 460 mm. So the maximum relative uncertainty of A was
tional pressure drop was calculated by smaller than 1.2%.
The tube wall temperature (Twi) was calculated using Two mea-
DP f ¼ DP  DP a  DP g ð2Þ sured by thermocouples with accuracy of ±0.1 °C and the inner and
where DP is the pressure difference measured by the pressure outer wall temperature difference calculated by the method in
difference transmitter, Pa; DPg is zero due to the horizontal tube Appendix A with relative deviation around 4.8%. The saturation
and DPa is [11]: temperature (Tsat) was calculated based on the refrigerant pressure
! with a calculation accuracy of ±0.05 °C. The minimum difference
G 2 x2 G2 ð1  xÞ2 between Twi and Tsat occurred at the maximum heat flux condition
DP a ¼ D þ ð3Þ
and was 1 °C in the experiments. So the maximum relative uncer-
qv e ql ð1  eÞ
tainty of Twi  Tsat was smaller than 19.8%.
where x is the vapor quality; e is the void fraction calculated using Therefore, the maximum uncertainty of the heat transfer coeffi-
the Rouhani drift flow model [12] cient of the micro-fin tube was estimated to be smaller than 23.1%.

Table 4
Working conditions.

Test section Saturation temperature Tsat (°C) Mass flux G (kg m2 s1) Heat flux q (kW m2) Vapor quality x (–) Vapor quality variation at each data point
Micro-fin tube 10 200 10 0.05–0.98 0.18
15 100 10 0.37
15 200 10 0.18
15 200 20 0.37
15 200 30 0.55
15 200 40 0.73
15 300 10 0.12
15 400 10 0.09
20 200 10 0.19
Smooth tube 15 100 10 0.05–0.98 0.43
15 200 10 0.21
15 300 10 0.14
15 400 10 0.11
674 X.M. Wu et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 669–680

Using the same method, the maximum uncertainty of the heat 15000
transfer coefficient of the smooth tube was estimated to be smaller
than 22.2%.
12000

2.5.2. Pressure drop

According to Eq. (2), the relative uncertainty of the pressure 9000

h W/(m2K)
drop was calculated by
"   2 #0:5 6000
DðDP f =LÞ DðDPÞ 2 DL 2
2013.07.10
¼ þ ð6Þ G =300 kg/(m s)
DPf =L DP L 2 2013.07.25
q =10 kW/m
3000 2013.08.10
For the micro-fin tube, the pressure drop in the test section was o
Tsat=15 C
measured by a pressure difference transmitter with accuracy of
±75 Pa and the minimum pressure drop was 1.1 kPa. The tube 0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
length was measured by a ruler with accuracy of ±0.25 mm and x
the heated length was 460 mm. So the maximum relative uncer-
tainty of –dPf/dz was smaller than 6.82%.
(a) Micro-fin tube
10000
2.6. Heat loss analysis 2
G =300 kg/(m s) 2012.03.10
8000 2 2012.03.25
Experiments were conducted to investigate the axial and total q =10 kW/m
2012.04.10
o
heat loss of the test section. The procedures are as follows. The sys- Tsat=15 C
tem was vacuumized. Then the test section was heated. After the 6000
system reached a steady state (the fluctuations of the tube wall h W/(m2 K)
temperature were within ±0.05 °C for 10 min), the heating power
which is equal to the total heat loss of the test section and the tube 4000
wall temperature were recorded. The above procedures were
repeated in order to obtain the relationships between the total heat
2000
loss (Qtl) and temperature difference of the tube wall and the sur-
roundings (Two  Tsur). As an example, Fig. 5 gives the relationship
between Qtl and Two  Tsur when Tsur is 28 °C. It is found that Qtl 0
almost linearly increases with Two  Tsur so a correlation was fitted 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
x
using the four data points in the figure.
(b) Smooth tube
Q tl ¼ 0:0417ðT wo  T sur Þ ð7Þ
Fig. 6. Verifications on the repeatability of the experimental rig.
where Qtl is the total heat loss, W; Two and Tsur are the tube outer
wall temperature and surrounding temperature, °C. The tempera-
ture differences between the tube wall and the environment were were not significant. As the minimum heat addition was 376.8 W,
all smaller than 10 °C in the experiments, so the total heat losses the heat losses (<1%) were ignored.
were estimated smaller than 0.417 W. The radial heat losses were
calculated using 1D heat conduction equation when the tempera- 2.7. Experimental repeatability
ture difference between the tube wall and the surroundings, the
thermal conductivity and the thickness of the insulation material The experimental repeatability was verified by measuring the
are known. It is found that the radial heat losses were more than R32 flow boiling characteristics for the same working conditions
90% of the total heat losses, indicating that the axial heat losses on two different days (30 days apart). Fig. 6 shows the test results
for both test sections. The differences in the mean absolute heat
transfer coefficients are within 5% with a maximum difference in
0.5 the heat transfer coefficient of 8.5%, indicating good experimental
repeatability.

0.4
3. Results and discussion

Qtl = 0.0417 (Two − Tsur)

0.3 3.1. Heat transfer
Qtl

3.1.1. Micro-fin tube

0.2 Fig. 7a shows the variations of the heat transfer coefficient with
the vapor quality in the micro-fin tube for various mass fluxes. For
vapor qualities less than 0.2, the mass flux has little influence on
0.1 the heat transfer coefficient while the heat transfer coefficient
increases with increasing mass flux for vapor qualities of
0.2–0.45. For vapor qualities greater than 0.45, the heat transfer
0.0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 coefficient drops sharply as the vapor quality increases and the
Two-Tsur critical points (the vapor quality where the heat transfer coefficient
starts to drop) are at lower vapor qualities for higher mass fluxes.
Fig. 5. Relations between the Qtl and the Two  Tsur. For mass fluxes of 100, 200, 300 and 400 kg m2 s1, the critical
 X.M. Wu et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 669–680 675

20000 Fig. 7b shows the variations of the heat transfer coefficient with
o
Tsat = 15 C, q = 10 kW m -2 G = 100 kg m-2 s -1 vapor quality in the micro-fin tube for various heat fluxes. For
G = 200 kg m-2 s -1 vapor qualities less than 0.3, the heat transfer coefficient increases
16000 G = 300 kg m-2 s -1 with increasing heat flux. For vapor qualities greater than 0.45, the
G = 400 kg m-2 s -1 heat transfer coefficient drops sharply as the vapor quality
12000 increases. The critical vapor qualities are lower for higher heat
h (W m K )
-1

fluxes. For heat fluxes of 10, 20, 30 and 40 kW m2, the critical
-2

vapor qualities are 0.72, 0.60, 0.52 and 0.30 vapor quality, respec-
8000 tively, when the saturation temperature is 15 °C and the mass flux
is 200 kg m2 s1. Since increasing heat fluxes increase the number
of nucleation sites, the heat transfer is enhanced with increasing
4000
heat flux. However, increasing heat fluxes also increase the bubble
breakup frequency, so the critical vapor quality is lower for higher
0 heat flux.
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 Fig. 7c shows the variations of the heat transfer coefficient with
x vapor quality in the micro-fin tube for various saturation temper-
(a) Effect of mass flux atures. For 0.4 vapor qualities less than 0.4, the heat transfer coef-
ficient increases with increasing saturation temperature. For vapor
20000 qualities greater than 0.4, the heat transfer coefficient starts to
o q = 10 kW m -2 drop as the vapor quality increases with the lower critical vapor
Tsat = 15 C, G = 200 kg m -2 s -1
q = 20 kW m -2 qualities for higher saturation temperatures. For the saturation
16000 q = 30 kW m -2 temperature of 10, 15 and 20 °C, the critical vapor qualities are
q = 40 kW m -2 0.75, 0.72 and 0.62 vapor quality, respectively, when the mass flux
is 200 kg m2 s1 and the heat flux is 10 kW m2. The increasing
12000
h (W m K )

saturation temperature increases the number of nucleation sites

-1

[14], which enhances the heat transfer but the increasing satura-
-2

8000 tion temperature also increases the ratio of the vapor density to
the liquid density, which suppresses bubble growth and reduces
the heat transfer. When the enhancement effect is stronger than
4000 the deterioration, the heat transfer coefficient increases with
increasing saturation temperature.

0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 3.1.2. Effect of the 0° helix angle fins
x Direct comparisons between the heat transfer coefficients of the
(b) Effect of heat flux multiport micro-fin flat tube and those of smooth tube may not be
appropriate because the two test sections have different channel
20000 inner diameters (1.7 mm of the flat tube channel and 2.0 mm of
o
G = 200 kg m -2 s -1, q = 10 kW m -2 Tsat = 10 C the smooth tube). So the heat transfer coefficients of smooth tube
o
Tsat = 15 C with 1.7 mm inner diameter were predicted based on the data of
16000
o
Tsat = 20 C 2.0 mm inner diameter smooth tube. The heat transfer coefficient
of 1.7 mm inner diameter tube, hpred,1.7, is
12000
h (W m K )

hpred;1:7 ¼ hexp;2:0  a ð8Þ

-1
-2

where hexp,2.0 is the experimental data of the 2.0 mm inner diameter

8000
4000
0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6
x and 2.0 inner diameter tube calculated by a correlation which can
(c) Effect of saturation temperature
Fig. 7. Heat transfer coefficients in the micro-fin tube.
points occur at vapor qualities of 0.85, 0.72, 0.55 and 0.45, respec-
tively, when the saturation is 15 °C and heat flux is 10 kW m2. For
vapor qualities less than 0.2, nucleate boiling is dominant, so the
mass flux has little influence. For vapor qualities of 0.2–0.45, the
refrigerant velocity increases greatly, which suppresses nucleate
boiling and enhances convective boiling, so the mass flux has more
influence. For vapor qualities greater than 0.45, dryout occurs and
the liquid film breaks more easily at higher flow speeds, so xcrit (the
vapor quality at which the heat transfer coefficient drops sharply)
decreases with increasing mass flux.
smooth tube and a is a coefficient that represents the influence of
tube diameter on the heat transfer coefficient and is calculated by
hcorr;1:7
a¼ ð9Þ
hcorr;2:0
0.8 1.0 where hcorr,1.7 and hcorr,2.0 are the heat transfer coefficients of 1.7
well predict the heat transfer coefficients of 2 mm inner diameter
tube, hexp,2.0. To the authors’ knowledge, there is no investigation
special on R32 flow boiling heat transfer in horizontal mini tube
at refrigeration conditions. So the authors compared several classi-
cal correlations for flow boiling heat transfer and found that Cheng
correlation [15] has acceptable accuracy for predicting the heat
transfer coefficients of R32 flow boiling in horizontal smooth mini
tubes. The deviations between the predictions by Cheng correlation
and the experimental data are shown in Fig. 8. Using the proposed
predictive method, the heat transfer coefficients of 1.7 mm inner
diameter smooth tube are calculated and given in Fig. 9.
Fig. 9a compares the heat transfer coefficients in the micro-fin
tube with those in the smooth tube. In Fig. 9a, for the 100 kg m2 s1
mass flux, the heat transfer coefficients in the micro-fin tube are
676 X.M. Wu et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 669–680

12000 quality of 0.82. In Fig. 9b, for the 200 kg m2 s1 mass flux, the heat
transfer coefficients in the micro-fin tube are approximately 1.8
10000 +30% times those in the smooth tube for vapor qualities less than 0.69.
In the smooth tube, the heat transfer coefficients slightly increases
with increasing vapor quality and decrease sharply for vapor qual-
8000
hexp (W m-2 K )

ities greater than 0.83 while in the micro-fin tube, the heat transfer
-1

coefficient is almost unchanged with increasing vapor quality and

6000 -30% then decreases sharply for vapor qualities greater than 0.69. The
heat transfer coefficient declines even further in the micro-fin tube
4000 at a vapor quality of 0.94. In Fig. 9c and d, for 300 and 400 kg m2 s1
mass fluxes, the heat transfer coefficients in the micro-fin tube are
2000 approximately 1.7–1.8 times those in the smooth tube for vapor
qualities less than 0.5 and 0.42, respectively, with the heat transfer
coefficients in the two tubes almost the same for vapor qualities
0
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 around 0.75 and 0.7, respectively. In the smooth tube, the heat
hpred by Cheng correlation (W m-2 K-1) transfer coefficient slightly increases with increasing vapor quality
and then decreases sharply for vapor qualities greater than 0.77
Fig. 8. Deviations between the predictions by Cheng correlation and the experi- while in the micro-fin tube, for 300 and 400 kg m2 s1 mass
mental data. fluxes, the heat transfer coefficient increases with increasing vapor
quality and then decreases sharply for vapor qualities greater than
0.5 and 0.42, respectively. The heat transfer coefficient decreases
approximately twice those in the smooth tube for vapor qualities even further for a vapor quality greater than 0.88 and 0.84 at 300
less than 0.82. In the smooth tube, the heat transfer coefficients and 400 kg m2 s1 mass fluxes, respectively.
decrease uniformly with increasing vapor quality while in the The different heat transfer characteristics in the micro-fin tube
micro-fin tube, the heat transfer coefficients are almost unchanged and smooth tube are mainly caused by the inner heated surface
with increasing vapor quality and decrease sharply after a vapor structure of the micro-fin tube. For the 100 kg m2 s1 mass flux,

20000 20000
Micro-fin tube G = 100 kg m-2 s-1 Micro-fin tube G = 200 kg m -2 s-1
Smooth tube q = 10 kW m-2 Smooth tube q = 10 kW m -2
16000 o
Tsat = 15 C 16000 o
Tsat = 15 C
h (kW m -2 K )
-1

An apparent decline at x =0.82 An apparent decline

h (kW m K )

12000 12000
-1

at x=0.69 A second decline

-2

at x ≈0.94
8000 8000

Smooth decline
4000 4000
An apparent decline
at x=0.83
0 0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
x x
(a) 100 kg m-2 s -1 (b) 200 kg m-2 s-1

20000 20000
Micro-fin tube G = 300 kg m-2 s-1 Micro-fin tube G = 400 kg m-2 s-1
Smooth tube q = 10 kW m-2 Smooth tube q = 10 kW m -2
16000 o
Tsat = 15 C 16000 o
Tsat = 15 C
Two apparent decline at x =0.50 and x=0.88 Two apparent decline
h (kW m -2 K )

at x =0.42 and x =0.84

-1

h (kW m K )

12000 12000
-1
-2

8000 8000

4000 4000
One apparent decline at x =0.76
One apparent decline at x=0.77

0 0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
x x
(c) 300 kg m -2 s -1 (d) 400 kg m-2 s -1
Fig. 9. Comparisons of the heat transfer coefficients in the micro-fin and those in the smooth tube.
 X.M. Wu et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 669–680
Vapor
o whole inner surface wetted by the liquid while the flow pattern
Liquid film Liquid film
Surface wetted
by liquid
Before the heat transfer coefficient After the heat transfer coefficient
sharply declines
Vapor
Liquid film
Fig. 10. Flow patterns before and after the heat transfer coefficient sharply declines
in the micro-fin and smooth tubes.
the two-phase flow pattern for R32 in the smooth tube is
stratified-wavy flow based on the flow pattern map by Wojtan
et al. [16]. In the micro-fin tube, the fins are aligned with the refrig-
erant flow direction, so the influence of the fins on the liquid–vapor
distribution is not much and the two-phase flow pattern in the
micro-fin tube is assumed to still be stratified-wavy flow. Fig. 10
shows the presumed liquid and vapor distributions in the two
tubes. In the smooth tube, the liquid wetted area becomes smaller
with increasing vapor quality, so the heat transfer coefficient
decreases. In the micro-fin tube, the liquid film is thick and wavy
at lower vapor qualities, so all the tube and fin surfaces are wetted
by liquid. With the increasing vapor quality, the liquid film
becomes thinner and the tops of the fins will be exposed to the
vapor, which sharply reduces the heat transfer coefficient at a
vapor quality of 0.82.
For the 400 kg m2 s1 mass flux, the two-phase flow pattern of
R32 in the smooth tube is mainly intermittent flow with annular
flow after a transition vapor quality of 0.4 based on the flow
pattern map by Wojtan et al. [16]. In the micro-fin tube with the
fins parallel to the refrigerant flow direction, the two-phase flow
pattern in the micro-fin tube is assumed to also be intermittent
flow and annular flow. Fig. 11 shows the presumed liquid and
Transition criterion
Liquid
o
periodically wets
the upper surface
Liquid
periodically wets
the upper surface
Fig. 11. Flow patterns for intermittent flow and annular flow in the micro-fin and
smooth tubes.
677
vapor distributions in the two tubes. In the smooth tube, the flow
pattern at lower vapor quality is intermittent flow with the liquid
intermittently flushing the upper part of the tube, making the
Vapor
Surface wetted at higher vapor qualities is annular flow in which the tube perime-
by vapor
ter is covered by a liquid film. Thus, for both flow patterns the
smooth tube perimeter is all wetted by the liquid. With increasing
of vapor quality, the liquid film then flows faster which increases
sharply declines the heat transfer coefficient, dryout occurs at a vapor quality of
0.76 which sharply reduces the heat transfer coefficient. In the
micro-fin tube, the liquid distribution is similar with that in the
Vapor
smooth tube at lower vapor qualities. However, as the flow pattern
transitions from intermittent flow to annular flow, the tops of the
Liquid film
fins may be exposed to by vapor because the liquid film thickness
is less than the fin height, which sharply reduces the heat transfer
coefficient the first time. At a vapor quality of 0.88, the liquid
refrigerant between the fins reaches dryout which further reduces
the heat transfer coefficient the second time.
3.2. Two-phase frictional pressure drop
3.2.1. Micro-fin tube
Fig. 12a shows that the R32 two-phase frictional pressure drop
in the micro-fin tube significantly increases with increasing mass
flux. At lower and moderate vapor qualities, the pressure drop sig-
nificantly increases with increasing vapor quality while at higher
vapor qualities, the pressure drop increase with vapor quality is
not as great. At lower and moderate vapor qualities, the vapor
speed increases with increasing vapor quality, which increases
the shear stress between the vapor and the liquid, so the pressure
drop increases with increasing vapor quality. At higher vapor
qualities, dryout occurs and the vapor flows along the inner tube
surface, so the slope of the pressure drop curve is smaller.
Fig. 12b shows that the R32 two-phase frictional pressure drop
in the micro-fin tube increases with increasing heat flux. At lower
and moderate vapor qualities, the pressure drop significantly
increases with increasing heat flux. At a vapor quality of 0.4, the
pressure drops for heat fluxes of 10, 20, 30 and 40 kW m2 are
6.1, 6.8, 9.8 and 10.8 kPa m1. At a vapor quality of 0.8, the pres-
sure drops for the four heat fluxes are 12.1, 12.3, 12.4 and
12.7 kPa m1. At lower and moderate vapor qualities, the higher
heat fluxes produce more bubbles which increase the flow resis-
tance so the pressure drop significantly increases with increasing
heat flux. At higher vapor qualities, the tube is almost full of vapor,
so the bubbles have little influence and the slope of the pressure
drop curve is smaller with increasing heat flux.
Fig. 12c shows that the R32 two-phase frictional pressure drop
in the micro-fin tube decreases with increasing saturation temper-
ature. At a vapor quality of 0.4, the pressure drops for saturation
Liquid film temperatures of 10, 15 and 20 °C are 7.9, 6.1 and 3.3 kPa m1. At
Vapor a vapor quality of 0.8, the pressure drops for the three saturation
Surface wetted
by liquid temperatures are 16.5, 12.1 and 7.4 kPa m1. The increasing satu-
Surface wetted ration temperature reduces the liquid viscosity, which reduces
by vapor
the frictional pressure drop. The increasing saturation temperature
also increases the vapor density which reduces the vapor velocity
while reducing the liquid density which increases the liquid veloc-
ity. So the vapor–liquid velocity difference and the shear stress are
Liquid film reduced, which also reduces the frictional pressure drop.
Vapor 3.2.2. Effect of the 0° helix angle fins
Fig. 13 compares the R32 two-phase frictional pressure drops in
Surfaces all wetted
by liquid the micro-fin and smooth tubes for two mass fluxes. The pressure
drop variations with vapor quality in the micro-fin tube are similar
to those in the smooth tube, but the micro-fin tube pressure drop is
about 40% higher than in the smooth tube. The figure also shows
that the slower pressure drop increases with vapor quality come
678 X.M. Wu et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 669–680

50 20
2
G kg/(m2s) q =10 kW/m Micro-fin tube G = 200 kg m-2 s-1

Frictional pressure drop (kPa m-1)

400 Tsat=15 oC Smooth tube q = 10 kW m-2
40 300 16 o
Tsat = 15 C
200
d Pf /d z (kPa m-1)

100
30
12

20
8

10
4

0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
x 0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
(a) Effect of mass flux Vapor quality (-)
15 (a) 200 kg m-2 s -1
q kW/m2 G =200 kg/(m2s)
40 Tsat=15 oC 50
12
30
Micro-fin tube
20
d Pf /dz (kPa m -1)

Smooth tube

Frictional pressure drop (kPa m-1)

9 10
40

6 30

3
20

0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 G = 400 kg m-2 s-1
10
x q = 10 kW m-2
o
(b) Effect of heat flux Tsat = 15 C
0
0.0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0
20
Vapor quality (-)
Tsat oC G =200 kg/(m s)
2
(b) 400 kg m-2 s -1
2
16 10 q =10 kW/m
15 Fig. 13. Comparisons of the pressure drops in the micro-fin and those in the smooth
d Pf /dz (kPa m-1)

20 tube.
12

8 gradient with vapor quality starts at lower vapor qualities in the

micro-fin tube than in the smooth tube.

4
4. Conclusion

0 In a micro-fin tube with a 0° helix angle, the fins are aligned

0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6
x with the flow, the flow boiling heat transfer coefficient of R32
(c) Effect of saturation temperature
Fig. 12. Two-phase frictional pressure drops in the micro-fin tube.
at lower vapor qualities in the micro-fin tube than in the smooth
tube. For example, at the 400 kg m2 s1 mass flux, the curve for
the pressure drop with vapor quality becomes flat at a vapor qual-
ity of around 0.6 for the micro-fin tube, while for the smooth tube
the curve becomes flat at a vapor quality of around 0.7. Previous
studies of two-phase pressure drop in smooth tubes have shown
that the decrease of the pressure drop gradient with vapor quality
is mainly caused by dryout during which vapor wets the tube wall
rather than liquid. In the micro-fin tube, the tops of fins touch the
vapor at lower vapor qualities, so the decrease of the pressure drop
0.8 1.0
increases with increasing mass flux, heat flux and saturation tem-
perature while the pressure drop increases with increasing mass
flux and heat flux and decreasing saturation temperature.
The 0° helix angle fins enhance the heat transfer of R32 flow
boiling by 60% on average while increasing the pressure drop by
40% on average compared with a smooth tube.
The heat transfer is affected by two dryout points in the
micro-fin tube with 0° helix angle fins, but the fins delay the totally
dryout point. The critical vapor qualities for the pressure drop in
the micro-fin tube are lower than in the smooth tube.
Acknowledgements
This work is supported by the Tsinghua University Initiative
Scientific Research Program (No. 20131089319), the National
Natural Science Foundation of China Science Fund for Creative
 X.M. Wu et al. / Experimental Thermal and Fluid Science 68 (2015) 669–680 679

Research Groups (No. 51321002) and the China Postdoctoral Table A1

Science Foundation (No. 2014M560964). Comparisons of Two  Twi obtained by the proposed solution and simulation.

q Proposed solution Simulation Relative deviation

(kW m2) (°C) (°C) (%)
Appendix A. Calculations of Twi for the multichannel micro-fin
tube and the smooth tube 10 0.0521 0.0546 4.58
20 0.1040 0.1091 4.67
30 0.1564 0.1637 4.46
For the micro-fin tube, the heat addition was supplied by the 40 0.2087 0.2182 4.35
electric heating tape, and Twi was calculated by assuming 1-D heat
conduction in radial direction when the tube outer wall tempera-
ture and the heat flux are known. But it is not easy to get an exact showed comparisons of Two  Twi obtained by the proposed solu-
analytical solution for Twi, due to the geometry of the multichannel tion and the numerical simulations. The maximum relative devia-
tube. This work attempted to propose an approximate analytical tion was less than 4.67% indicating the proposed solution was
solution for Twi of the multichannel tube. Validations of the applicable.
solution were also conducted. It is worth noting that the analysis above is not appropriate for
The cross section of the multichannel tube shown in Fig. 1 was the most outer channels, because the cross section geometry of the
composed of 8 channels with the same diameter and the same most outer channels is different from that of the middle ones.
interval, and each channel was horizontally and vertically symmet- While the authors think that the edge effect may not be very signif-
rical, so 1/4 of a single channel was considered. Fig. A1a gave the icant, as there are six channels in the middle.
geometry and boundary conditions of the 1/4 single channel. The For the smooth tube, the heat addition was supplied by the
heat added on the tube upper surface was conducted to the chan- direct electric current applied on the tube wall, so Twi for the
nel wall, and the other three sides were symmetric boundary con- smooth tube was calculated by
ditions. This geometry was simplified to a rectangle where heat    
was conducted from the top to the bottom (Fig. A1b) by assuring Ur 2o r2 Ur2 ri
T wi ¼ 1  i2 þ o ln þ T wo ðA3Þ
the two geometries have the same area (a0 b0 = ab  pd2/16) and 4k ro 2k ro
the same heat transfer length (2a0 = a + pd/4). Therefore, Twi was
where U is the heat generation per unit volume [Q/(p(r2o  r2i )L)],
calculated by
W m3; Two is the mean temperature of tube outer surface, °C; ri
0
qb and ro are the inner and outer tube radius, m.
T wi ¼ T wo  ðA1Þ
k
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