Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 27 (2021) 101270

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Case Studies in Thermal Engineering

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

Impact of suction line on evaporator effectiveness in

refrigeration cycle
Saad Sami Farhan a, Thamer Khalif Salem a, Maha Nazar Ismael b,
Thamir K. Ibrahim c, *
a
Engineering Faculty, Mechanical Department, Tikrit University, Tikrit, Iraq
b
College of Petroleum and Minerals Engineering, Petroleum Processing Eng., Tikrit University, Tikrit, Iraq
c
Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering AlShirqat, Tikrit University, Tikrit, Iraq

A R T I C L E I N F O A B S T R A C T

Keywords: The effect of suction line on the evaporator performance with the using of R-134a has been
Capillary tube investigated experimentally. Three types of suction lines (lateral, concentric, coil) have been used
Suction line with various refrigerant flow rates and air velocities. The results of the concentric suction line
Evaporator effectiveness
gave the highest values of the coefficient of heat transfer compared to the other types. Moreover,
R134a
the maximum increase of the internal heat transfer coefficient (hi) and overall heat transfer co­
efficient (Uo) was achieved for the reference capillary tube as 16% and 50% respectively, when
the mass flow rate of refrigerant is 14.87 kg/h and air velocity 3.8 m/s. In addition, the results
displayed that the largest values of evaporator effectiveness (ε) have been obtained, when utilized
the concentric suction line compared the other types. Thereby, the internal heat transfer coeffi­
cient was increased by 9.24% for the concentric suction line with the increasing of air speed from
1.8 m/s to 3.8 m/s at flow rate of the refrigerant is 14.87 kg/h. Finally, the best suction line
according to all results such as hi, Uo and ε is the concentric line compared the other types.

1. Introduction

The household vapor compression refrigeration systems were developed further through several optimization methods to improve
system efficiency and heat exchanger effectiveness. Therefore, the capillary tube is incorporated with suction line to make a new heat
exchanger for the designers of the system for increasing the system performance. The refrigerant flow is monitored between the
condenser and evaporator through an expansion valve that is installed on the refrigeration system. The simplicity of manufacturing of
the capillaries with low cost allows them to be used in small refrigeration systems. The copper capillary tube connects the outlet of the
condenser to the inlet of the evaporator with the ranging of length and internal diameter from 1 m to 6 m and 0.66 mm–2 mm
respectively (Poolkrajang, A.,2004) [1]. Capillary tubes can be classified into two types, adiabatic and non-adiabatic. Previously, the
capillary tubes are insulated by using fiberglass for reducing the heat loss (adiabatic tube) but currently, heat exchanger has been
designed between the capillary tube (non-adiabatic) and suction line for increasing the performance of the domestic refrigeration
systems (Bansal et al., 1996) [2]. The lateral arrangement of capillary tube with a suction line is the most widely used of heat exchanger
that employed in the household refrigerators (Yang and Bansal, 2005) [3]. The lateral capillary type is made by soldering the external

* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: saadsami@tu.edu.iq (S.S. Farhan), thamer.salem@ozu.edu.tr (T.K. Salem), eng.mahanazar@tu.edu.iq (M.N. Ismael),
thamirmathcad@yahoo.com, thamersa1974@tu.edu.iq (T.K. Ibrahim).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csite.2021.101270
Received 24 September 2020; Received in revised form 16 July 2021; Accepted 18 July 2021
Available online 24 July 2021
2214-157X/© 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
S.S. Farhan et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 27 (2021) 101270

Symbols table

A Surface area, (m2)

C Capacity rate ratio, (− )
Cp Specific heat capacity, (kJ/kg⋅◦ C)
D Diameter, (m)
d1 The vertical distance between evaporator tubes, (m)
d2 The horizontal distance between evaporator tubes, (m)
EC Energy consumption, ($/year)
ECO Electricity cost, ($/kWhr)
G Mass flux,(kg/m2⋅s)
K Thermal conductivity, (W/m⋅◦ C)
ṁ Mass flow rate, (kg/s)
NTU Number of transfer unit, (− )
Nu Nusselt number, (− )
OH Operating hours, (hr/year)
P Pressure, (bar)
Pr Brandtl number, (− )
Re Reynolds number, (− )
T Temperature, (◦ C)
U Total heat transfer coefficient, (W/m2⋅◦ C)
V Air speed,(m/s)
WUH Watt usage per hour, (W/hr)
X Thickness,(m)

Greek symbol
μ Kinematic viscosity,(kg/m⋅s)
φ Finned efficiency, (− )
ε Fin effectiveness, (− )

Lower symbols
a Air
c Condenser
e Evaporator
d Characteristics diameter, (m)
f Finned
i Interior
m Medium
max maximum
min minimum
o Exterior
p pipe
ref Refrigerant
t Fin thickness, (m)

surfaces of the capillary tube and suction line to create a counterflow heat exchanger (Neeraj and Souvik, 2007) [4]. The system
efficiency had been enhanced in the presence of a reduced refrigerant quality inside the evaporator, as a result of increasing the heat
transfer from the capillary tube to the suction line (Xu and Bansal, 2002) [5]. The condensers and the evaporators have a uniform wall
temperature. These condensers and evaporators are heat exchangers that are employed from household to industrial applications. A
specific heat transfer has to be achieved through the design by sacrificing the pumping power. The log mean temperature difference
and the effectiveness over the number of heat transfer units are the two well-known methods presently used for analyzing the heat
exchanger (Hermes, 2013: Mottet et al., 2015) [6,7]. The effect of various parameters such as (temperature of condenser, evaporator,
sub-cooling and superheat; diameter and length of the capillary tube, and the quality of refrigerant flow) on the system performance
has been investigated numerically, which used the heat exchanger type capillary tube with suction line (Yang and Bansal, 2005: Dan,
2014) [3,8]. Heat transfer simulation model has been achieved between the capillary tube and the suction line, which used two
different refrigerants are R134a and R600a (Ozone-friendly types) with the considering of the ambient conditions. The computational
results of refrigerant R134a offered the best performance in heat transfer and cooling capacity compared to the refrigerant R600a. A
simulation model of the steady refrigerant flows along the heat exchanger of the capillary tube with a suction line was presented by
(Seixlack and Barbazelli, 2009) [9]. The numerical study has been achieved in two regions are single-phase and two-phase flow
through the straight capillary tube. The hydrodynamic and thermodynamic models were applied for two-phase flow region, with the

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disregarding in nonstable of flow inside the heat exchanger. The numerical results of the heat exchanger are validated by comparing it
with the experimental data of (R134a) refrigerant flowrate and temperature distribution that is working under varying operating
conditions. The results showed that the numerical model afforded an accurate agreement of the refrigerant flow rate compared to the
experimental results. A numerical model of the heat exchanger that consist of the suction line and capillary tube are simulated by
(Debasish and Jeong, 2012) [10], whereas the capillary tubes are considered a significant part in the domestic refrigeration devices for
decreasing the temperature and pressure of refrigerant by the fast expansion process. The cooling performance was enhanced by
incorporating the capillary tube with a suction line as a heat exchanger in household refrigeration systems. The empirical results have
been compared with the experimental data from the literature of R134a and R600a that achieved a good agreement (Sertkaya et al.,
2012) [11], studied experimentally six heat exchangers. Among these were the aluminum foam and fin heat exchangers with the
number of pore per one inch were (10, 20, 30 inches) with dimensions of (200 × 200 × 100 mm). The effectiveness for each heat
exchanger was calculated through the experimental data against several parameters such as Reynolds number, pressure loss, friction
factor and Nusselt number. The experimental results showed the heat exchanger effectiveness reduced as increase the Reynolds
number of refrigerant. A mathematical model of the capillary tube within the compression refrigeration system is applied by (Ahmed
A. I., 2009) [12] with using (R22, R407C) as refrigerants. The mathematical results are given a great agreement compared with the
published experimental results by (Kim S.G. et al., 2002) [13] and (Koizumi H. and Yokoyama K.,1980) [14]. (Hermes C. and Claudio
M., 2009) [15], presented a simulation model to study the effect of each parameter length of (Capillary tube - suction line) heat
exchanger and capillary tube inner diameter on the performance of the household refrigerator. The numerical results showed that the
consumption energy reduced by 8 % at the heat exchanger length is 2.34 m and the inner diameter of the capillary tube 0.6 mm. The
results of the model are compared with the experimental results of (C.J.L. Hermes et al., 2008) [16], which achieved excellent
compatibility. An experimental and numerical study is conducted by (Qasim S. M. and Baydaa J.N., 2012) [17] for a household
refrigerator using refrigerants R-600a and R134a. The experimental tests were done with different lengths of the capillary tubes. The
experimental results showed the R-600a was an appropriate refrigerant compared to R134a. In addition, the numerical model was
based on the equations of conserving mass, energy, and momentum. The numerical results also indicated a good match with exper­
imental results. Next, (Prasanna M. and Kishore P., 2014) [18] presented an experimental study to improve the performance of
compression refrigeration system by using R12. The experimental tests have been applied by adding a new heat exchanger to the
refrigeration system. The experimental results of the new setup offered a good enhancement in the coefficient of performance by 16 %
with reducing the compressor capacity by 14 % compared to the reference setup without a heat exchanger. A theoretical and
experimental study is performed by (Tao R. et al., 2014) [19], to show the effect of an additional heat exchanger (capillary tube -
suction line) on the air conditioner performance with using the refrigerant R290. The results demonstrated an improved cooling
capacity and coefficient of performance by 5.3 % and 4.5 % respectively with an additional heat exchanger to air conditioner. Also, the
results showed another enhancement by reducing the refrigerant charge by 6 %. An experimental and numerical study has been
conducted the changing of phase region in the adiabatic and non-adiabatic capillary tubes by using the working fluid R22 that was

Fig. 1. Compression refrigeration system; 1. Evaporator, 2. Condenser, 3. Compressor, 4. Capillary and suction line, 5. Rotometer

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S.S. Farhan et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 27 (2021) 101270

studied by (Esam and Ammar,2018) [20]. All the experimental tests were performed by using straight and coil capillary tubes to show
the effect of tube length on the phase change during the expansion process. The results show that the length and coil diameter of the
capillary tubes have a large impact on the fluid phase change. Besides, the experimental and numerical results gave an acceptable
agreement compared to the other publishers. An experimental and numerical study has been performed on evaporator performance by
utilizing the refrigerant R134a by (Ahmed and Zahraa,2019) [21]. Then, each of the studies is achieved by analyzing the heat transfer
coefficient and pressure drop of two-phase flow under the boiling condition. Next, the experimental study has been performed at
variable parameters such as cooling capacity, heat flux, quality, and saturation temperature. The experimental results illustrated
increases of local heat transfer coefficient with the rising of heat flux at the same operating conditions. In addition, the heat transfer
coefficient of the evaporator improves with the increase in the mass flux and saturation temperature. The comparison between the
experimental and theoretical results afforded a good agreement. Finally (Thamer K⋅S., et al., 2020), [22]conducted an experimental
study to analysis exergy and energy to calculate the performance of compression refrigeration system operating with refrigerant
(R134a) by adding a heat exchanger (capillary tube – lateral suction line) and using three different lengths of capillary tubes (160, 175,
190 cm). The results showed an increase in the coefficient of performance for refrigeration system with a decrease in the length of the
capillary tube from (190 m) to (160 m) by (17.96 %) at mass flow rate of the refrigerant (17.3 Kg/hr). The experimental results also
showed that adding a heat exchanger to the refrigeration system improves the coefficient of performance by (6.7 %) and the exergy
efficiency by (35 %).
The main goal of this study is to investigate the possible steps for enhancing the performance of a refrigerating system. All
experimental tests were done under the effect of the suction line on the system performance by using R134a as a refrigerant. Three
types of suction lines (lateral, concentric, coil) have been used with various refrigerant flow rates and air velocities.

2. Experimental setup

The main components of the experimental setup are reciprocating compressor ¼ hp, fin and tubes heat exchanger with the heat
capacity ranging from 0.7 kJ/s to 1.2 kJ/s, and the final part is the capillary copper tube. The compression refrigeration cycle consists
from evaporator fin tube type as shown in Fig. 1, and it equipped with air fan where the air passes through the fins and external surfaces
of the evaporator finned tube to get heat exchange resulting in heat gain. Therefore, the evaporation process in the refrigerator has
been tested at two different air-velocities (1.8 m/s and 3.8 m/s) and Table 1 shows the dimensions and specifications of the evaporator.
Also, three types of capillary tubes have been selected at the same inner diameter (3 mm) and length (150 cm) that measured by using
pin gauge with the accuracy ± 0.0015 mm. The physical mechanism of heat transfer in the capillary tube is achieved by reducing each
of the pressure and temperature of the refrigerant from high physical quantities in the condenser to the evaporator. This is because of
the rising in the turbulent flow and friction factor between the working fluid and internal surface of the capillary tube [23]. In addition,
the capillary tubes have been joined to three types of suction lines which is: (lateral, concentric and coil) whereas the diameter of
suction line is (0.95 cm) and the contact length between the capillary tube and the suction line is (60 cm), which is illustrated in Fig. 2
(A and B). For more explanation in the physical mechanism of the capillary tube-suction line, the improvement of system performance
by utilizing a non-adiabatic capillary tube is performed. It can be achieved by using the cold saturated vapor that exiting from the
evaporator to cool the hot saturated liquid coming out from the condenser. Thus, the addition of a new heat exchanger (capillary
tube-suction line) leads to an increment of subcooling temperature in the liquid region at the condenser outlet with rising the
superheating temperature of the refrigerant vapor before entering the compressor. As a result of this process, the heat exchange in the
capillary tube-suction line ensures the entry of superheated vapor that does not contain any liquid droplets to the compressor inlet that
lead to increase the compressor efficiency. In addition, the other enhancement of the heat exchanger due to rising the subcooling
temperature that caused an increase in the system performance by incrementing each of heat transfer coefficient and effectiveness of
evaporator [24]. The volumetric flow rate of refrigerant has been measured by using a rotameter type (CRYOTEK T316BL) with the
flow range is 0 L/min to 0.35 L/min. Rotameter instrument location between the compressor and capillary tube, which controlled by
using a manual valve to dominate the refrigerant flow rates through the capillary tubes. Thermocouples type T has been joined to the
thermometer model (MTR6) with the temperatures ranging from − 5 ◦ C to 150 ◦ C and the uncertainty range ± 0.1 ◦ C. Next, the
temperatures have been measured at each inlet and outlet location for each refrigeration system components. Practically, the tem­
peratures variation along the capillary tube has been measured by using many thermocouples, which is installed on the external tube

Table 1
Shows the specification and dimensions of evaporator.
Specification Dimension (mm)

Internal tube diameter (Di) 6.5

External tube diameter (Do) 8.5
Evaporator length (L) 250
Evaporator width (W) 238
Depth (H) 74
Fin height (y) 4.2
The distance between two fines (z) 3.5
Fin thickness (t) 0.5
Number of fins 66
Number of tubes 8

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S.S. Farhan et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 27 (2021) 101270

Fig. 2. Suction line heat exchanger; A). Photograph for capillary tube and suction line, B). The schematic diagram of the experimental refrigeration
device with different types of non-adiabatic capillary tubes heat exchanger.

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S.S. Farhan et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 27 (2021) 101270

surface to avoid any obstruction of refrigerant flow during the expansion process. Two pressure gages have been utilized to measure
high-pressure and Low-pressure at each inlet and outlet of capillary tubes respectively. The operating ranges of high-pressure and
low-pressure gages are from 0 bar to 35 bar and − 1 bar–15 bar respectively, with the range of pressure uncertainty ±0.03 bar. The
calculations of experimental data have been done by using EES program. Then, Fig. 3 shows the Algorithm diagram of calculation
procedure by using EES code.
The internal heat transfer coefficient of the evaporator can be calculated through the following empirical relationship (Holman,
2008) [25]:
h i · Di
Nud = = 0.023 · Re0.8
d · Pr
n
(1)
Kref

And that when the following conditions:

2500 < Re < 1.25 · 105

0.6 < Pr < 102

where nheating = 0.4 , and. ncooling = 0.3

The external heat transfer coefficient (ho) is determined by following equation (Parinya et al., 2014) [26]:
( )0.2 ( )
ho · Do z z 0.1134
Nu = = 0.134 · Re0.681
a · Pr 0.333
a · · (2)
Ka y t

Fig. 3. Flowchart diagram shows the analytical procedures to get the results of the evaporator during the refrigeration process.

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S.S. Farhan et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 27 (2021) 101270

That’s where:
Gmax · Do
Rea = (3)
μa

Dt − Do
y = (4)
2

where (Gmax) represents the intensity of the mass flow at smaller cross section area of air. So, the high quality type of the fins in the
evaporator tubes are plate fins, so at the expense of efficiency requires converted to circular fins for equal diameters and areas.
Based on the above assumption can be calculated of outer diameter for each fin and tube package as follows (Carrier W.H. and
Anderson, 1944) [27], which is illustrated in Fig. 4:
[ ]1/2
d1 · d2
Dt = 2 · (5)
π
Overall heat transfer coefficient is determined by taking the following equation (Thomas et al., 1998) [28]:
1
Uo = Ao A ·x (6)
Ap,i · hi
+ Ap,mo · Kp p + (1− ∅ ) + h1
o
Ap,o
ho Af +∅

where the finned efficiency (∅) has been extracted from the (Thomas et al., 1998) [28]. Next, the effectiveness of cross-fin evaporator
has been calculated by using the following relationship Eq. (7) that applies for a cross-flow of refrigerants (air and R134a) (Holman,
2008) [25]:
[ ( ) ]
exp − NTU · C · NTU − 0.22 − 1
ε = 1 − exp (7)
C · NTU − 0.22

where is:

Fig. 4. Approximation approach for analyzing the rectangular fin to be as a circular fin with the same thickness and area [30].

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S.S. Farhan et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 27 (2021) 101270

Uo · A
NTU = ( ) (8)
ṁ · Cp min
( )
ṁ · Cp
C=( ) min (9)
ṁ · Cp max

The economic analysis of the refrigeration system is achieved by calculated the energy consumption. Then, the cost analysis of
energy consumption is done by considering different parameters with mentioning the ranges of values such as current ampere (1.8–2.5
amp), voltage (220–230 V), operating hours (20–40 min) a day, and electricity cost were 0.21$. Therefore, the energy consumption
cost can be calculated by following the equation [29]:
OH ∗ WUH
EC = *ECO (10)
1000

3. Empirical uncertainty analysis

In this study, The main dependent parameters are hi, Uo, and ϵ that are calculated as a function of the other independent variables
such as Tref (1–6), Ta, Pe, Pc, ṁ, and ∅. For more explaining, the internal and external heat transfer coefficient, overall heat transfer
coefficient, NTU, and effectiveness in the evaporator part are calculated as a function of the following equations:
( )
hi = f Nud , Kref (11)

ho = f (Nu, Ka ) (12)
( )
Uo = f hi , ho , Kp , ∅ (13)
( )
NTU = f Uo , ṁ, Cp (14)
( )
C = f ṁ, Cp (15)

ε = f (NTU, C) (16)
The procedures of uncertainty calculations have been analyzed by using the governing uncertainty equations by Moffat [31] for all
major parameters such as heat transfer coefficient and effectiveness. The important thermophysical parameters of refrigerant, air and
pipe material also considered for completed the uncertainty analysis for all dependent parameters that have been performed by the
following formulas:
[( )2 ( )2 ]1/2
Δhi ΔNud ΔKref
=± + (17)
hi Nud Kref

[( )2 ( )2 ]1/2
Δho ΔNu ΔKa
=± + (18)
ho Nu Ka

whereas the uncertainty calculation of the overall heat transfer coefficient and the number of transfer unit has been fixed by following
the:
[( )2 ( )2 ( )2 ( ) ]1/2
ΔUo Δhi Δho ΔKp Δ∅ 2
=± + + + (19)
Uo hi ho Kp ∅

[( )2 ( )2 ( )2 ]1/2
ΔNTU ΔUo Δṁ ΔCp
=± + + (20)
NTU Uo ṁ Cp

[( )2 ( )2 ]1/2
ΔC Δṁ ΔCp
=± + (21)
C ṁ Cp

and the effectiveness uncertainty of the evaporator has been analyzed as:
[( )2 ( )2 ]1/2
Δε ΔNTU ΔC
=± + (22)
ε NTU C
Finally, the thermophysical properties for each of refrigerant R134a, air, and copper material of the evaporator pipes that have
been analyzed to determine the uncertainty as a function of temperature and pressure:

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S.S. Farhan et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 27 (2021) 101270

[ ( )]
Cp = f Ta,mean = 0.5 Ta,i + Ta,o (23)
( )
Kref = f Tref , Pe (24)
( )
Ka = f Ta,o , Pa (25)

4. Results and discussion

The major goal of this study is to determine the effect of capillary tubes with a suction line on the evaporator performance at
different air-speeds. The refrigeration system performance is examined for different flow rates using the refrigerant (R134a). Also,
sample of experimental results for all capillaries are shown in Table 2. Fig. 5 has shown the effect of suction line on the internal heat
transfer coefficient hi. Then noting increase the mass flow rate of the refrigerator so as to increase the momentum of the fluid thereby to
increasing the rate of thermal energy transmission. Furthermore, the largest coefficient of internal heat transfer was achieved for the
concentric suction line compared the other capillaries. At ṁ = 14.87 kg/h and V = 3.8 m/s, the results show the heat transfer co­
efficient rises by 16 % for the concentric suction line compared to the reference capillary tube, because the thermal resistance of the
concentric suction line is less than other types.
An effect of the suction line on the overall heat transfer coefficient Uo is shown in Fig. 6. The results showed an increase in Uo with
an increase in the mass flow rates of refrigerant for all capillaries. The highest increase of Uo was obtained 50 % for concentric suction
line compared to the capillary tube without suction line at ṁ = 14.87 kg/h and V = 3.8 m/s, which is due to reduce in thermal
resistance of concentric type. This reason leads to an increase in the internal heat transfer coefficient of the concentric suction line, and
consequently to an increase in the overall heat transfer coefficient.
Either Fig. 7 are presented the effect of suction on the evaporator effectiveness. The results show that the evaporator effectiveness
drops as the mass flow rates are raised because of the reduced the number of units transmitted (NTU) for all capillary tubes. The best
increment of the evaporator effectiveness has been found for concentric suction line by 15.45% compared with a reference capillary
tube at mass flow rate 22.03 kg/h and airspeed 3.8 m/s.
Consequently noting, the results of the significant parameters as hi, Uo, and ε show the proportional relationship with the air-speed
that presents clearly in Figs. 5, Figure 6, and Fig. 7. The results show all parameters increase when the air-speed rises from 1.8 m/s to
3.8 m/s for all cases. For example, the concentric type of suction line gave the highest increment of hi by 9.24% at ṁ = 14.87 kg/h
compared the other types. This is due to the increase in the heat transfer rate of the heat exchanger.
Figure (8) shows the relationship between the mass flow rate of the refrigerant (R134a) and the rate of energy consumption. It was
observed through the figure that an increase in the mass flow rate from (14 kg/h) to (22 kg/h) leads to an increase in the rate of energy
consumption for all types of suction lines used and for both airspeeds (1.8 m/s) and (3.8 m/s). This is due to increases in the energy
consumption drawn by the compressor and air fans. The experimental results showed that the use of a capillary tube without a suction
line (Reference capillary tube) gave the biggest values in the cost of energy consumption compared the concentric suction line by (5.3
% and 7.1 %) for both speeds respectively. In addition, the results showed that the concentric suction line is achieved the lowest energy
consumption for all refrigerant flow rates especially at a mass flow rate (14.8 kg/h) that whose value was (30.5 $/year) at the air-speed
(1.8 m/s) and (32.7 $/year) at the air-speed is (3.8 m/s). The reason is due to an increase in each of the heat transfer parameters as hi,
Uo, and ϵ of the evaporator.

5. Conclusion

An experimental study was presented to test the performance of evaporator by utilizing different types of capillary tubes that are
combined with a suction line. In addition, all experimental outcomes have been obtained with different mass flow rates of R134a

Table 2
Sample of practical results for each capillary tube at the minimum and maximum mass flow rates of refrigerant.
ṁ V = 1.8 m/s V = 3.8 m/s
kg/hr
hi Uo hi W/m2⋅ C Uo
◦

W/m2⋅ C W/m2⋅ C % W/m2⋅ C %

◦ ◦ ◦

Lateral suction Line

14.87 339.27 ± 4.2 16.88 ± 0.19 56.24 ± 0.25 366.1 ± 4.8 21.44 ± 0.21 65.40 ± 0.32
22.03 466.46 ± 4.5 21.20 ± 0.30 50.00 ± 0.28 470.7 ± 4.5 26.65 ± 0.27 58.54 ± 0.40
Coil suction Line
14.87 351.20 ± 4.2 17.32 ± 0.28 57.42 ± 0.40 371.7 ± 3.1 21.70 ± 0.35 66.00 ± 0.32
22.03 469.70 ± 4.0 21.30 ± 0.30 50.29 ± 0.41 477.3 ± 4.6 26.96 ± 0.22 58.95 ± 0.27
Concentric suction Line
14.87 358.10 ± 5.5 17.57 ± 0.30 58.28 ± 0.35 391.2 ± 5.0 22.70 ± 0.30 67.02 ± 0.36
22.03 480.22 ± 3.0 21.63 ± 0.25 50.70 ± 0.38 491.7 ± 3.8 27.65 ± 0.32 59.78 ± 0.42
Reference Capillary tube
14.87 313.45 ± 5.0 14.30 ± 0.24 52.30 ± 0.30 337.0 ± 4.0 15.14 ± 0.30 59.00 ± 0.30
22.03 449.89 ± 4.2 19.34 ± 0.35 46.86 ± 0.35 456.7 ± 3.0 22.00 ± 0.26 51.78 ± 0.31

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S.S. Farhan et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 27 (2021) 101270

Fig. 5. The effect of suction line on internal heat transfer coefficient at different mass flow rate.

Fig. 6. The effect of suction line on overall heat transfer coefficient with variable mass flow rates.

refrigerant, ranging from 14.87 kg/h to 22.03 kg/h. In this research, the conclusions have been shortened as:

1. The heat transfer rates of the evaporator increase with the rising in refrigerant mass flow rates for all capillaries tubes.
2. The evaporator effectiveness decreases when the mass flow rate of the refrigerant is elevated for all cases.
3. Two main parameters in the evaporator part are hi and Uo when using a concentric suction line. Meanwhile, the results proffered
the largest percentage in these parameters are 16% and 50% respectively, in comparison with a reference capillary tube.
4. The other major parameter is evaporator effectiveness at a concentric suction line, which is offered the biggest enhancement of
effectiveness by 15.45% compared to the reference capillary tube at ṁ = 22.03 kg/h and V = 3.8 m/s.
5. The second main parameter is the fan air speed into the evaporator. The results showed increases in hi when the air speed is rising
from 1.8 m/s to 3.8 m/s. At the concentric suction line, the largest improvement of hi is 9.24% compared to the other capillary tubes
at ṁ = 14.87 kg/h.

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S.S. Farhan et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 27 (2021) 101270

Fig. 7. The effect of suction line on evaporator effectiveness at various refrigerant flow rate.

Fig. 8. The effect of suction line on energy consumption cost at various refrigerant flow rate.

6. The economical cost has been analyzed for all types of capillary tubes with and without the suction lines. The results illustrated that
is the smallest cost of energy consumptions was for the concentric suction line by 6 % and 13.9 % respectively, for both air-speeds at
constant refrigerant mass flow rate was 14.87 kg/h.

Ctradit author statement

Conceptualization, Saad Sami Farhan and Thamer Khalif Salem; Methodology, Saad Sami Farhan and Thamir K Ibrahim; Coding,
Saad Sami Farhan and Maha Nazar Ismael; Validation and formal analysis, Saad Sami Farhan and Thamir K Ibrahim; Investigation,
Saad Sami Farhan and Maha Nazar Ismael; Resources, Thamer Khalif Salem and Maha Nazar Ismael. Writing—original draft prepa­
ration, Saad Sami Farhan and Thamer Khalif Salem; Writing—review and editing, Maha Nazar Ismael and Thamir K Ibrahim.; Su­
pervision, Thamir K Ibrahim.

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S.S. Farhan et al. Case Studies in Thermal Engineering 27 (2021) 101270

Declaration of competing interest

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to
influence the work reported in this paper.

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to be obliged to Tikrit University for providing laboratory facilities and financial support.

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