Int J. Refrig. Vol. 19, No. 8, pp.

497-505, 1996
Copyright © 1996ElsevierScienceLtd and IIR
Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
ELSEVIER PII: S0140-7007(96)00044-8 0140-7007/96/$15.00

An empirical model for sizing capillary tubes

P. K. Bansal and A. S. Rupasinghe
D e p a r t m e n t o f M e c h a n i c a l Engineering, T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f A u c k l a n d ,
P r i v a t e Bag - 92019, A u c k l a n d , N e w Z e a l a n d
Received 7 December 1995; revised 20 M a y 1996

This paper presents an empirical model that has been developed to size adiabatic and non-adiabatic
capillary tubes for small vapour compression refrigeration systems, in particular, household refrigerators
and freezers. The model is based on the assumption that the length of a capillary tube is dependent on five
primary variables, namely the capillary tube inner diameter, the mass flow rate of the refrigerant in the
capillary tube, the pressure difference between highside and lowside, the refrigerant subcooling at capillary
inlet and the relative roughness of the capillary tube material. The model is validated with previous studies
over a range of operating conditions and is found to agree reasonably well with the experimental data for
HFCI34a. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR
(Keywords:Householdrefrigerator;expansion;capillary;simulation;calculation)

Mod61e empirique pour le dimensionnement des tubes capillaires

L'article prOsente un modble empirique mis au point pour dimensionner les tubes eapillaires adiabatiques et
non adiabatiques de petits systkmes de refroidissement it compression de vapeur que l'on trouve plus
particulikrement dans les rOfrig~rateurs et les cong~lateurs mOnagers. Ce modble est fond~ sur l'hypothbse scion
laquelle la longueur d'un tube capillaire d~pend de cinq variables primaires, it savoir le diamktre intOrieur du tube
capillaire, le d~bit masse du frigorigkne dans le tube capillaire, la difference de pression entre le c6tO haute
pression et le c6tO basse pression, le sous-refroidissement du frigorigkne h l'entr~e du capillaire et la relative
rugosit~ du matOriau du tube capillaire. Le modkle a ~t~ validO aprbs plusieurs ~tudes effectu~es pour une large
plage de conditions de fonctionnement, et on trouve une corrOlation satisfaisante avee les donn~es
expOrimentales du HFCI34a. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR
(Mots cl6s: r~frig+rateurdomestique; d6tente; capillaire; simulation; calcul)

Every vapour compression refrigeration system has an
expansion device to meter the refrigerant flow from the
high pressure (condenser side) to the low pressure (evapo-
rator side). Capillary tubes are commonly used in small
refrigeration systems (e.g. household refrigerators and
freezers, dehumidifiers and room air conditioners) due to
their simplicity and low cost. It is simply a long hollow
tube of drawn copper with an internal diameter ranging
from 3.3 x 10 _4 to 1.5 × 10-am and length from 2 to
5 m, connecting the highside to the lowside. Capillaries
can be of two types namely, the adiabatic and the non-
adiabatic. In the former, the refrigerant expands from
the high pressure to the low pressure adiabatically (i.e.
tube is fully insulated - see Figure la) while in the latter,
the refrigerant expands to low pressure in the capillary
tube which is set up to form a heat exchanger with the
suction line (see Figure lb). Nonetheless, non-adiabatic
capillaries are most commonly used in household refrig-
eration systems.
The capillary tube operates on the principle that liquid
passes through it much more readily than does gas. A
common flow condition is to have subcooled liquid at
the entrance of the capillary. However, if two-phase
flow enters the capillary, the gas component (of the
mixture) reduces the mass flow rate of the refrigerant
considerably, thereby increasing the condenser pressure.
As a result, this increased pressure causes subcooling
to occur which increases the mass flow rate of the
refrigerant I .
Traditionally, capillary tubes were designed for CFC 12,
HCFC22 and sometimes CFC502 as working fluids. Due
to the public concerns on the depletion of the ozone layer
and global warming, CFCs and HCFCs are being phased
out from the refrigeration industry. As a result, a number
of alternative refrigerants including HFC134a, HFC600a
and a mixture of HFC290 and HFC600a, have emerged
as promising CFC free alternatives to CFC12 in house-
hold refrigerators and freezers. The proper size of a
capillary tube with a new refrigerant is a critical factor
for the optimum performance (i.e. maximum coefficient
of performance) of a refrigeration system. Historically,
tubes were sized in a number of ways e.g. empirically, by
interpolation/extrapolation from previous experience of
the capillary designers, or through charts produced by
various agencies such as A S H R A E and commercial
companies. The difficulty with A S H R A E charts is that
they are only available for refrigerants CFC12 and
HCFC22. Therefore, there is an emerging need to have

497
498
Nomenclature
A Cross-sectional area of the capillary tube (m 2)
d Internal diameter of capillary tube (m)
Relative roughness of the tube material
Apparent effectiveness of the heat exchanger
G Mass flux of refrigerant (rh/A) (kg s m -2)
L Total length of capillary tube (m)
Lsp Single-phase length of capillary tube (m)
Ltp Two-phase length of capillary tube (m)
Ldiff Length difference between non-adiabatic and
adiabatic capillary tube (m)
Lhx Length of the capillary tube-suction line heat
exchanger (m)
Ill|llllJlllallllllllllll
IIII ........ i J I E J I I I I J J I J ~
iiiil:::::~: .............
iiiiIIIIIIIIIIIlilllill
',VqlXRl~
(a)
Figure 1 Refrigeration systems with (a) adiabatic and (b) non adiabatic capillary tubes (NACT) as expansion valves
Figure 1 Systbmes frigorifiques ~ tubes capillaires adiabatiques ( a ) et non-adiabatiques ( NA CT) ( b ) comme d~tendeurs
rating procedures for sizing capillary tubes operating
with refrigerants such as HFC134a. Additionally, from
the perspective of a capillary designer, it is always desir-
able to have a model which is simple to use and is based
on input parameters that are known to the designer.
This paper presents a simple empirical approach that
can be used to size a capillary tube for different design/
operating conditions of a refrigerator or a freezer. Some
of the parameters that influence the size of the tube,
along with the methodology and approach adopted in
the development process of the model, are discussed
in the paper for both adiabatic and the non-adiabatic
capillary tubes. The model is based on HFC 134a as the
working fluid but could easily be extended to other
refrigerants of interest.
Background
During the last few years, the behaviour of capillary
tubes has been studied extensively; both experimentally
and theoretically. These studies are discussed here under
two groups namely, the adiabatic Figure la and the non-
adiabatic capillaries Figure lb.
Adiabatic capillary tubes
The flow inside a capillary tube was investigated in
1948 by Staebler 2 who performed extensive tests and
presented experimental data in a graphical form for
P. K. Bansa/ and A. S. Rupasinghe
rh Mass flow rate of refrigerant (kg s -1)
Pcond Condenser pressure (kPa)
AP Pressure drop across the capillary (kPa)
p Refrigerant density at capillary entrance
(kgm 3)
Tc Refrigerant saturation temperature in
condenser (°C)
Te Refrigerant saturation temperature in
evaporator (°C)
ATsub Refrigerant subcooling at capillary inlet (K)
A Tsup Refrigerant superheat at evaporator exit (K)
AThx Refrigerant temperature rise across suction
,
(b)
selecting R12-based capillary tubes. He proposed a
correlation: L] =Lo(dl/do) 4'6 to calculate capillary
length LI, corresponding to new diameter da while Lo
was the length corresponding to 1.07 × 10-03 m dmmeter
tube. Later, Bolstad and Jordan 3 presented an analytical
solution for adiabatic capillary tubes. It was based on the
homogeneous flow and constant friction factor through-
out the flow. Marcy 4 assumed the capillary tube to be
smooth for friction factor calculations but liquid
viscosity was used for the calculation of two-phase
Reynolds number. In 1950, Hopkins 5 developed a
method for sizing capillary tubes. He presented a
graphical method to integrate flow equations obtained
from the conservation of mass, energy and momentum.
These equations were also used by Bolstad and Jordan 3
and by Marcy 4, who used simplified methods to solve
them. Cooper et al. 6 developed rating curves based on
Hopkins 5 work for capillary tube selection for
9.14 × 10-4 and 2.54 x 10 m diameter tubes. Whitesel 7
studied adiabatic capillaries assuming constant friction
factor for the single-phase and two-phase regions,
respectively. Whitesel's analysis later was coupled with
Hopkins 5 work to produce the well known ASHRAE
charts 1 for capillary_ tube selection. Erth 8 followed the
model of Whitesel 7 except that he used Rhomberg
integration for solving the governing equations. He
improved the two-phase friction factor equation by
curve-fitting the data from Bolstad and Jordan 3 and
 Empirical model for sizing capillary tubes
Whitesel7. Later Rezk and Awn9 developed selection
charts for adiabatic capillary tubes. These charts were
based on the integration of the flow equations formu-
lated by Bolstad and Jordan 3. A constant friction factor
was assumed over the entire length. Maczek and
Krolicki 1° developed a model for adiabatic capillary
tubes using variable friction factors. The model results
were compared with the experimental data but there
were unexplained trends in the deviations between the
model predictions and the experimental data. In 1983,
Maczek et al. 1~ addressed the refrigerant metastable flow
phenomenon with a two-phase flow model and showed
little improvement over their simpler homogenous two-
phase flow model. Lin et al. 12 developed correlations to
calculate the single and two-phase flow friction factors.
These correlations were used by Li et al. 13 in their
numerical model to calculate the adiabatic capillary tube
length, however, no comparisons were made with the
experimental data. Recently, Melo et al. 14 have devel-
oped a computer model-CAPILAR, where the two-
phase flow friction factor was calculated following the
model of Erth 8.
Non-adiabatic capillary tubes ( N A C T )
In practice, a non-adiabatic capillary tube is normally
soldered to the suction line (as shown in Figure lb) to
heat and evaporate the residual liquid in the suction line.
This suction line heat exchanger (or the non-adiabatic
capillary) is seen to result in efficiency improvement,
because it increases the refrigeration capacity of the
system by the amount of heat being transferred from the
capillary to the suction side.
The thermodynamic advantage of using NACTs was
shown in 1946 by Swar0 5. About 35 years later, Pate 16
carried out a major study of NACTs by considering the
heat exchanger length. He developed a model assuming a
constant friction factor, like many others in the model-
ling of NACTs. Dirik et al. 17 used the well known
Colebrook equation in their NACT modeling work to
calculate single phase friction factors. They performed
extensive tests on both the adiabatic and the non-
adiabatic tubes for a range of conditions and compared
their data with the results obtained from their numerical
model. Their study is the major source of experimental
data on HFC134a in the literature. In 1994, Peixoto and
Bullard TM developed a computer model for NACTs
where the suction line diameter was included as a vari-
able and the quality was calculated along the non-
adiabatic region. The model was used to determine
capillary tube lengths and tube diameters required for
a given flow rate and operational conditions for both
CFC12 and HFC134a refrigerants. Escanes et al. 19
developed a numerical method to simulate the thermal
and fluid dynamic behaviour of NACTs. The governing
equations were written in one-dimensional and transient
form over finite control volumes. The model was suc-
cessfully applied to both critical and non-critical flow
conditions and the model results compared well with
earlier studies. In 1995, Bittle et al. 2° performed some
experiments with non-adiabatic capillary tube system
using CFC12 as the refrigerant. Recently, Peixoto 21
tested the model of Peixoto and Bullard TMusing HFC-
134a. His numerical results differed by up to 20% from
measured data•
499
Development of a simple empirical correlation
The availability of a simple correlation for sizing capil-
lary tubes is desirable. The capillary tube connects the
condenser with the evaporator, and the refrigerant can
exist as either a subcooled liquid or in two-phase at its
inlet. The flow through the capillary tube can generally
be divided into a liquid single-phase region, where the
pressure decreases linearly up to the flash point and
a two-phase region where the refrigerant velocity and
pressure drop (per unit length) increases with distance
from capillary inlet. It was observed from previous
studies2-t5 that the capillary length is dependent on five
primary variables namely:
1. Capillary tube internal diameter (d).
2. Mass flow rate (th) or mass flux (G) of refrigerant
through the capillary tube.
3. Pressure difference between the highside and lowside
(Ap); critical pressure should be used for the latter in
case of choked flow conditions.
4. Refrigerant subcooling at capillary inlet (ATsub).
5. Relative roughness of the capillary tube material (~).
In addition to these five variables, the refrigerant prop-
erties (both thermodynamic and transport) are important
in sizing capillary tubes. However, the effect of these
properties has, to some extent, already been taken into
account in other variables (e.g. Ap, ATsub and rh). In
order to keep the correlation simple and input para-
meters as variables known to the designers, only the
above five variables were considered in this approach
for the development of the empirical correlation. The
refrigerant flow at the capillary inlet is considered to be
either saturated or subcooled liquid.
Adiabatic capillary tubes
If Lsp and Ltp are, respectively, the single phase and two
phase flow lengths, the total length of the capillary (L)
can be written as:
L = Lsp + Ltp (1)
Single and two-phase lengths were predicted separately
over a desirable operating range from a two-phase homo-
geneous flow model developed by Rupasinghe22, which
had been validated previously using available experimental
data (17'21'23'24). To obtain relationships between single/
two phase lengths and variables d, th, A Tsub, Ap and e;
the results were obtained from the computer model 22
using the following set of input data:
d =0.66mm rh = 4kg/h; ATsub = 5.5K;
Te =249.9K; ¢ = 6.06 x 10 04 Tc = 327.55K
The individual relationships between each variable
and single/two-phase lengths were established by a
simple curve fitting approach which has been described
•
in detail by Rupasinghe22 . Deviations between model
predictions and the experimental data were found by
Rupasinghe 22 to be within ~7%. The predictions were
plotted against various variables and the observed trends
are summarized in Table 1. It can be observed from
Table 1 that the single phase length (Lsp) is expected to
be directly proportional to Ap, d 5 and ATsub but is
51)0 P. K. Bansal and A. S. Rupasinghe

inversely proportional to rh2 and the relative roughness Table1 Dependencyof capillary length on different variables
(e). The dependence of L~p on both d 5 and 1/rh 2 can be Tableau 1 Influencede plusieurs variables sur la longueur du capillaire
grouped together as Lsp a d / G 2. On the other hand, the
two phase length, Ltp , is expected to be proportional to Variable Dependency Relation
A p and d, but is inversely proportional to e, G 2 and 1. AT~ub Lspl / L~p ~ AT~ub
ATsub.
Table 1 suggests that Lso is directly proportional to L/ _
(k ' - e), where k' is a constant, representing the intercept AT~-~b
of the curve Lsp vs ~. Therefore, the proposed correlation
2. ATsub Ltp~N~ Ltp c~(k" - ATsub)
for the single-phase region can be written as:
kI- e I N
Lsp ol Ap.ATsob.d. -G~ (2) /xT~,b
For the two-phase region, the expected relations are 3. e Lsp,Ltpt Lsp c~(U- e) and
similar to Equation (2) except that the two-phase length Ltp c~ (k" - e)
decreases as the subcooling increases. Following the
above analogy, it can be shown that Ltp a k" - ATsu b.
l\ E

Therefore, the proposed correlation for the two phase 4. Ap Lsp,Ltp l / Lsp,Ltpcr Ap
region becomes:
L/ _
Ltp OLA P . d . ( - A V s u b + k " ) . ( k " - (3) &p-

5. d/G 2 Lsp,Ltp~ J Lsp,Ltp ~r d/G 2

where k" and k'" are constants, representing the inter-
cepts of the curves: Ltp vs ATsu b and Ltp vs e, respec-
tively. It is observed in the above analysis that Lsp o~
ATsu b but Ltp a 1/ATsu b when Lsp and Ltp are studied in
isolation from each other. However, when the overall
effect of ATsub on the total capillary length (L) is con-
sidered, it was observed that the first effect (i.e.
Lsp a A Tsub) is an overriding factor over the second
(i.e. Ltp a 1/ATsub). Therefore, the correlation for the
total capillary tube length L can be written as:
31
L = kl.AP.d.(ATsu b + ke ) . {k3-
~---~) (4)

where constants k 2 and k 3 are intercepts of the curves: L

vs ATsu b and L vs e. These constants (kl, k 2 and k3) were
evaluated by curve fitting the experimental data for
HFC134a 17'23'24 and are given in Table 3. The ranges of
the data were: ATsub = 3-10K, e = 6 × 10-4-9 × 10 -4,
Ap_-- 900-1300kPa, d = 0.64).8mm and rh = 3-
7 k g h -1. The quality of fit was ±5%. The accuracy of
the empirical equation beyond this range is unknown. It
is important to note here that Equation (4) preserves the HX Length
fundamental relationships of different variables and may Figure 2 Temperature profiles in the counter flow suction line heat
also be applicable to conditions with zero subcooling. exchange process. (For state points, see Figure lb)
Figure 2 Profils de tempbrature dans les processus d'bchange de chaleur
de la ligne d'aspiration ~ contre-courant. Pour les points de rdf~rence de la
Non-adiabatic capillary tubes ( N A C T ) fig. lb
The total length of the NACT is expected to be longer
than the adiabatic tube. For the same conditions, the and the rise in refrigerant temperature across the suction
difference between the length of NACT and the adiabatic line heat exchanger [A Thx: process 5 to 1 in Figure 2] can
capillary can be defined as: be given as:
Ldiff = Lnact - Ladiabatic (5) /XThx = - Ts) (7)
where Ldiff is dependent on the heat transferred from It may be noted here that these are only approximations
the capillary side to the suction side heat exchanger. for describing very complex phenomena. Substituting for
Since the NACT (i.e. capillary tube-suction line heat Ladiabatic from Equation (4) in Equation (5) yields:
exchanger) is working in a counter flow heat exchange
arrangement (see Figures lb and 2), its apparent effec-
tiveness (~b) can be defined as: tnact=(kl.AP.d.(ATsub+k,)(k3-c~.\G2j+ Ldiff} (8)

It was observed from the experimental data for HFC-

T55 (6) 134a 17'21 that Ldiff is directly proportional to both ATh×
 Empirical model for sizing capillary tubes 501

and ~, as is shown in Table 2. Therefore, the correlation Effect of different variables on capillary lengths
for determining Ldiff may be written as follows: To see the effect of different variables on capillary tube
lengths for HFC134a as refrigerant, computations have
Ldi ff C~ AThx0 (9) been performed with the following set of representative
or parameters:
Ldi ff = k4AThxq~ (10) A P = 1220.5kPa; e = 6.06 x 10-°4; rn = 4kgh-~;
where k 4 is a constant, representing the gradients of the AThx = 30 K; ~b = 0.8; AT+ub = 5.5 K;
curves: Ltp vs AThx a n d Ltp vs ~, respectively. Therefore,
the proposed correlation for non-adiabatic capillary d=0.66mm
tubes can be written as:

L=kt.Ae.d.(ATsub+
k2) (k++)
~ +k4AThxq 5 (11)

The constant k4 was determined by curve fitting the

3.5
experimental data for refrigerant HFC134a t7'21 and is
given in Table 3. The ranges of the data were: ATs~b = 3 -
10K, E = 6 x 10-4-9 × 10-4, A P = 900-1300kPa, d =
0.6-0.8mm, rh = 3 - 6 k g h -l and AThx = 2 7 - 5 0 K . The
quality of fit was -t-6%. The accuracy of the empirical
equation beyond this range is unknown.
gl 2.5
Limitations of the model. Equations (4) and (11) are nor-
mally applicable to non-critical flow conditions in the
capillaries and the validity may deteriorate with increas-
ing degree of critical flow. Under such situations, A P
should be evaluated as the difference between condenser / I' - - Non Adiabatic ]
and critical pressure (instead of evaporator pressure) !.5
for satisfactory results.

t I I
Results and discussion 0 5 10 15
This section is divided into three parts: Part I deals with ATwb IKI
the effect of different variables {subcooling (ATsub), Figure 3 Predicted effect of level of subcooling (ATsub) on the lengths
diameter (d)} on capillary lengths (both adiabatic and of adiabatic and non-adiabatic capillary tubes (shown by solid and
non-adiabatic), Part II with the adiabatic tubes and Part dotted lines respectively) for HFCI34a
III with NACTs. The validity of the proposed empirical Figure 3 Effet prdvu du niveau de surrefroidissement (AT~b) sur les
model is discussed in view of the available experimental longueurs des tubes capillaires adiabatiques et non-adiabatiques ( respect-
data on HFCI34a and earlier modeling results 21'23 from ivement indiquds par les lignes et pointillds ) pour le HFC-134a
the literature.

Table 2 Dependency of capillary length on heat exchange variables

Tableau 2 Influence de la Iongueur du capillaire sur l'~change de chaleur
le long du capillaire
Variable Dependency Relation 6

AThx Ldiff I / Ldiff a AThx ~" 5

4
L/ _
v
AThx 3

0 Ldiff l / LdiffO~65 Adiabatic tic [

L . /
O I I I
0.55 0.65 0.75 0.85
Diameter, d (mm)
Table 3 Correlation coefficients for the refrigerant HFC134a Figure 4 Predicted effect of diameter (d) on capillary lengths for
Tableau 3 Coefficients de corrOlation pour le frigorigbne HFC134a adiabatic and non-adiabatic capillary tubes (shown by solid and dotted
lines respectively) for HFC 134a
Refrigerant k1 k2 k3 k4 Figure 4 Effet pr~vu du diambtre (d) sur les longueurs des capillaires
HFC134a 16.3 x 108 10.25 1.62 x 10-03 305.05 x 10 4 pour les tubes capillaires adiabatiques et non-adiabatiques (respective-
ment indiqu~es par les lignes pleines et les pointill~s) pour le HFC-134a
502 P. K. Bansal and A. S. Rupasinghe

3 " ~ d =0.84 mm

,~
" I I'T,=32Lgg /
.~ 2.2 "l" ~ _ • • I IWTc=327.4K/

22t _ _ _
1.5 1.7 1.9 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.7 2.9 3.1
Adiabatic Capillary Tube Length (m)
Figure 5 Comparis~n~fpredictionsfr~mtheempirica~c~rre~ati~n(Equati~n4)~withtheexperimenta~datafr~mWijaya2~fHFC~34a(sh~wns~id
lines and points respectively), for mass flow rate (rh) as a function of adiabatic capillary tube length
Figure 5 Comparaison des valeurs obtenues par dquations empiriques (gquation 4) avec les r~sultats expgrimentaux de W(jaya sur le HFC-134a (trait
plein et pointill~s), pour le d~bit-masse m, en fonction de la longueur du tube capillaire adiabatique

Table 4 Comparison of results from the proposed empirical model 5.5

(Equation 4), with the experimental data of Dirik et al.17 on HFC 134a
• c~9.68x!0~4
for adiabatic capillaries
5 •, d=0.775 (mm)
Tableau 4 Comparaison des r~sultats obtenus avec le modble empirique
propos~ ( J6~quation 4) avec les donn~es exp~rimentales de Dirik et al. 17 sur
' ~ . AP=I220.SkPa
le HFC134a pour des capillaires adiabatiques ~ 4.5
N ~ % , • ATu,b--5.SK
Tube diameter, d = 0.66ram
Tc ATsub Te rhexp 1 thmodeli Percentage
(°C) (K) (°C) (kg h- ) (kg h - ) difference

43.3 5.2 -29.9 2.07 2.08 +0.6 3.5

43.3 8.7 -29.0 2.24 2.3 +2.8
48.9 6.6 -28.0 2.38 2.34 - 1.6
48.9 8.8 -27.2 2.43 2.49 +2.3 3
54.4 7.4 -26.0 2.53 2.57 +1.6
54.4 14.7 -23.5 3.07 3.04 -0.9 2.5

J I I I 'l
2 3 4 5 6
d=0.77 (nun) Adiabatic Capillary Tube Length (m)

e = 9.74x10 "°4 . ~_.4~- ---~

Figure 7 Comparison of the proposed empirical model (Equation 4),
with the earlier model of Melo et al. 14 (shown by solid and dotted lines
~-U4
respectively), for a given set of data for HFC134a
Figure 7 Comparaison de modble empirique proposg (dquation 4) avec
le modble ant~rieur de Melo et al. (trait plein et pointill~s) pour un
L = 2.926 m I ensemble de donn~es sur le HFC-134a

W
The effect of the level of subcooling (ATsub) on the
0 ! I I I I I I I
total capillary length is shown in Figure 3 whereas Figure
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
4 shows the relationship between the capillary length and
ATmb (K) its diameter. It is evident from the figures that the non-
Figure 6 Comparison of the experimental data from Melo et a124 with adiabatic capillaries always require longer lengths than
the empirical model predictions by equation 4 (shown points and solid the adiabatic ones. This is due to the fact the cooling of
line respectively), on mass flow rate (rh) vs, condenser subcooling the refrigerant in the capillary due to the suction line heat
(ATsub) for adiabatic capillary tubes
exchanger has the same effect as from the refrigerant
Figure 6 Comparaison des donnkes exp&imentales de Melo et al. avec subcooling at the capillary inlet. Therefore, this results in
les valeurs obtenues avec module empirique de l~quation 4 (trait plein et
pointill~s), pour le d~bit-masse m e n fonction du surrefroidissement au an increase of the mass flow rate of the refrigerant (rh) or
eondenseur ( A Tsub) pour les tubes capillaires adiabatiques decrease in the pressure drop (Ap).
 Empirical model for sizing capillary tubes 503

2.2
d=0.7 (ram)

,, AT"b=5"$K

1.8 ~ ~% e=5"0xl0-°4

~:~ 1.6 • • • .... •• AP=1250.5 kPa

1.4

1.2

ell

0.8

0.6

0.4 I I t t I I I
0.75 1.25 1.75 2.25 2.75 3.25 3.75 4.25
Length (m)
Figure 8 Comparison of predictions from the proposed empirical model (Equation 4), with the model of Wong et al. 25 (shown by solid and dotted
lines respectively) for a set of data for HFC134a
Figure 8 Comparaison des valeurs fournies par le modble empirique propos~ (bquation 4) avec le modble de Wong et al. (trait plein et pointilHs )

3.5
3.2 P,~d = 1400 k P a
3
2.5
a~
~ 2
+~. 2.8 ~ 1.5
11 o
~ 2.6 D
~ 1 Mod. I
• Experimental]
~ 0.5,
~ 2.4 0
0 2 4 6 8 I0 12 14 16 18 20
2.2 i ! !
AT.b (K)
2.2 2.45 2.7 2.95 3.2
Figure 10 Comparison of the experimental data by Peixoto 21 with the
Measured Mass Flow Rate (kg/h) model (Equation 11) predictions shown by points and a solid line
Figure 9 Comparison of the experimental data (from Dirik et al. t7) respectively, for mass flow rate (rn) vs condenser subcooling (AT~oh)
with the predicted values from Equation (11), as a function of the mass Figure 10 Comparaison des donn~es exp&imentales de Poixoto avec les
flow rate (&). Solid line represents perfect agreement pr~visions du modble (~quation 11) respectivement reprOsentbes par trait
Figure 9 Comparaison des donn~es exp&imentales (d'apr~s Dirik et plein et pointill~s, pour le d~bitmasse (m ) par rapport au surre[?oidisse-
al.) avec les valeurs obtenues par l'~quation (11) en fonction du ddbit- ment A Ts.l,
masse m. Les correspondances exactes se situent sur le trait plein
compared with the other experimental data of Wijaya 23
in Figure 5 for refrigerant mass flow rate at a number
Adiabatic capillary tubes of condenser temperatures. To maintain the same pres-
sure drop across the capillary, the mass flow rate
increases as the tube length decreases. The average per-
Validation with experimental d a t a 17'23'24. To validate the centage error is minimum (5.8%) when the condenser
empirical model (Equation 4), comparisons have been temperature (Tc) is 310.8 K and the length (L) is 1.52 m
made with the limited available experimental data on (i.e. rh = 2.28 x 10-3 kgs-t). For Tc = 316.3 K, the per-
HFC134a from Wijaya 23, Melo et al. 24 and Dirik et centage error between the model predictions and the
alJ 7. Wijaya 23 did not specify the relative roughness (e) experimental data was 5% at r h = 2 . 1 × 10-°3kgs -I.
in his study but used capillary tubes from the same The model predictions are within i 7 % agreement of
manufacturer. To obtain e and Ap, one set of his experi- the experimental data.
mental data (e.g. d = 0.84mm, ATsub = I I . 1 K , Tc = Similar comparisons of the experimental data (from
310.8 K) was processed by curve fitting the data to Equa- Melo et al. 24) with the predicted values from Equation
tion (4). Using these values, the model (Equation 4) was (4), are shown in Figure 6 for HFC134a where the mass
504 P. K. Bansal and A. S. Rupasinghe

Table 5 Comparison of results from the proposed empirical model (Equation 11), with the experimental data on HFCI34a from Dirik et al.~7 tor
NACT of d = 0.8 mm
Tableau 5 Cornparaison des r~sultats obtenus avec le modkle empirique propos~ (Equation 11) avec les donnEes expkrimentales de Dirik et al. 1- sur &
HFC134a pour des tubes capillaires non adiabatiques d'un diambtre de 0.8 mm

Tc Te A Tsub A Tsup A Thx rhexp rhmode Percentage

(°C) (°C) (K) (K) (K) (kg h-J) (kg h-1) difference
43.3 -18.4 8.2 5.0 45.4 4.37 4.26 -2.5
43.3 - 18.1 9. l 5.0 45.1 4.47 4.35 -2.7
48.9 -16.7 6.7 1.0 47.7 4.28 4.44 +3.7
48.9 - 14.5 9.1 0.5 46.0 4.84 4.69 +3.1
54.4 -17.0 7.3 0.4 48.6 4.63 4.89 +5.6
54.4 -14.7 10.2 0.7 46.0 5.21 5.21 0

Table 6 Summary of the validity of the proposed model with earlier studies 14'17'21'23 25
Tableau 6 RdsumO de la validitO du modble propose, avec les dtudes pr~alables 14'1z'21"23 25

Maximum
Adiabatic/ Theoretical/experimental disagreement with
Source non-adiabatic tube study Variables the empirical model
Wijaya 23 Adiabatic Experimental m, L +7%
Melo et al? 4 Adiabatic Experimental rh, ATsub ±8%
Melo et al. 14 Adiabatic Theoretical rh, L -9%
Wong et al. 25 Adiabatic Theoretical rh, L -7%
Dirik et al.17 Adiabatic Experimental rh ±3 %
Dirik et al. 17 Non-adiabatic Experimental rh ±5 %
Peixoto21 Non-adiabatic Experimental th, ATsub ±8%

flow rate is plotted against the condenser subcooling.
The experimental data is given for two different tubes of
lengths 2.009 and 2.926 m but the pressure drop between
the highside and lowside (AP) is not given. The pressure
drop (Ap) was estimated by substituting one set of
experimental data (i.e. L = 2.009 m, e = 9.74 × 10 -04) in
model Equation (4). The value obtained was A p =
1031.5 kPa. This pressure drop together with other values
for the length (L), diameter (d) and relative roughness
(e) were used for comparison with the model predic-
tions. It may be seen from Figure 6 that the mass flow
rate increases as the subcooling increases to maintain
the same pressure drop across the capillary. The error
between the model predictions and the experimental data
was almost + 8 % .
In a recent study, Dirik et al. 17 have reported some
data for adiabatic capillary tubes with HFC134a as the
refrigerant. For a given set of conditions (e.g. d =
0.66mm and 0.80mm, ATsub --- 5 - 1 5 K and L = 5.5 m),
refrigerant mass flow rate (rn) was measured by Dirik
et al. 17. The roughness of the capillary tube was
0.00046mm. Table 4 shows the results for d = 0.66mm,
the maximum disagreement between experimental data
and the model predictions was only + 3 % .
Validation with earlier models (1425)
' . Figure 7 shows com-
parisons (for H F C 134a) of the proposed empirical model
(Equation 4) with the earlier model of Melo et al. 14. The
dotted lines in the figures represent the results from earl-
ier models while the solid lines show the results of the
empirical relation (Equation 4). It is evident from the fig-
ure that for a given pressure drop, the refrigerant mass
flow rate decreases considerably as the tube length
increases, but any increase in tube length will increase
the pressure drop if the pressure drop (Ap) is not con-
trolled externally. Therefore, to maintain the same pres-
sure drop (Ap), the mass flow rate has to be reduced
significantly. The predictions from the empirical model
were within - 9 % of the modeling results of Melo et
al. 14. The maximum error occurred when the lengths
were within the range of L = 1.0-2.5 (m) and the corre-
sponding mass flow rates (rh) were between 7.6 and 4.7
(kgh-l). The minimum error of 0.3% occurred at
L = 6.0 (m) and rh -- 2.8 (kgh-l).
Similar comparisons are shown in Figure 8 between
the empirical correlation (Equation 4) and the modelling
results of Wong et alfl 5. It may be noted here that
the empirical model always underpredicts the capillary
lengths than the models from Melo and Wong. When
lengths are between 2.5 and 4.0m, the average error is
only + 2 % , but it deteriorates to - 7 % for shorter
capillary lengths below 2.5 m for both the models.
Non-adiabatic capillary tubes ( N A C T s )
Very limited data are available on NACTs in the lit-
erature. The study by Dirik et al. 17 is a major source of
useful experimental data on NACTs for H F C 134a as the
refrigerant. This data is used to test the validity of the
proposed empirical model (Equation 11). For a given set
of conditions (e.g. d = 0 . 6 6 m m , ATsu b = 3.7-10.2K,
AThx = 3 0 - 5 5 K , 6 = 0 . 8 and L = 5.5m), refrigerant
mass flow rate (rh) measured by Dirik et al. 17 was com-
pared with the mass flow rate calculated using Equation
(11) in Figure 9. It is to be noted here that each point in
the graph corresponds to different operating conditions.
For the calculated flow rate to be in complete agreement
with the measured data, the points should fall on the
solid line. The maximum error was - 3 . 7 % at a flow rate
of 3.07 kg h -l. Table 5 shows the results for another tube
of d = 0.80mm. The agreement between the measured
(Yhexp) and predicted flow rate (/~/model) by the model is
very good to within ± 5 % .
Peixoto 21 performed experiments on a non-adiabatic
capillary tube (of L = 2.057m, d = 0 . 7 8 7 m m and
wall roughness of 0.00045mm) using HFC134a as the
 Empirical model for sizing capillary tubes
refrigerant. The m a s s flow rates were m e a s u r e d by
v a r y i n g s u b c o o l i n g (ATsub) a n d the c o n d e n s e r p r e s s u r e
(P~ond). T h e validity o f the p r o p o s e d e m p i r i c a l m o d e l
( E q u a t i o n (11)) was assessed a g a i n s t the e x p e r i m e n t a l
m a s s flow rates in Figure 10 for a c o n d e n s e r pressure
(Pcond) o f 1400 kPa. T h e pressure d r o p s for each set o f
e x p e r i m e n t a l d a t a were d e t e r m i n e d b y b a c k c a l c u l a t i o n
using E q u a t i o n (11) as has been d o n e earlier in similar
c o m p a r i s o n s with W i j a y a 23 a n d M e l o et al. 24. The
average p e r c e n t a g e e r r o r for the c o m p l e t e flow rate
d a t a was a b o u t + 8 % .
H o w e v e r , b o t h o f the a b o v e studies 17'21 deal with
concentric N A C T s only. F o r laternal N A C T s , the value
o f c o n s t a n t k4, is expected to be higher (say
k 4 = 595.05 × l0 -4) due to better h e a t transfer a n d
therefore, s h o u l d be e v a l u a t e d by curve fitting the
e x p e r i m e n t a l data.
Conclusions
In this study, an e m p i r i c a l a p p r o a c h has been p r e s e n t e d
to d e v e l o p simple c o r r e l a t i o n s for sizing b o t h the
a d i a b a t i c a n d n o n - a d i a b a t i c c a p i l l a r y tubes. T h e correla-
tions are based on the available e x p e r i m e n t a l d a t a in the
literature over a range o f o p e r a t i n g c o n d i t i o n s . The
p r e d i c t i o n s o f the p r o p o s e d e m p i r i c a l m o d e l are f o u n d to
agree with earlier studies within + 8 % for b o t h the
a d i a b a t i c a n d n o n - a d i a b a t i c c a p i l l a r y tubes. Table 6
s u m m a r i z e s the m a x i m u m d i s a g r e e m e n t o f the p r o p o s e d
m o d e l with earlier studies.
Acknowledgments
The a u t h o r s are grateful to M r I a n M c G i l l ( F i s h e r a n d
Paykel L t d , N e w Z e a l a n d ) a n d D r R. R a i n e for their
s u p p o r t a n d c o - o p e r a t i o n d u r i n g this project.
References
1 ASHRAE 1988 ASHRAE handbook-1988 Equipment American
Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engi-
neers, Atlanta (1988) 19-21
2 Staebler, L. A. Theory and use of a capillary tube for liquid
refrigerant control, Refrig. Engng (1948) 55 59 and 102-103
3 Bolstad, M. M., Jordan R. C. Theory and use of the capillary
tube expansion device, Part I1, nonadiabatic flow Refrig Engng
(1949) 572 583
4 Marcy, G. P. Pressure drop with change of phase in a capillary
tube R(/?(g Engng (1949) 57(1) 53--57
5 Hopkins, N. E. Rating the restrictor tube Refrig Engng (1950)
58(11) 1087 1095
505
6 Cooper, L., Chu, C. K., Brisken, W. R. Simple selection method
for capillaries derived from physical flow conditions Refrig
Engng (1957) 65(7) 37-46
7 Whitesel, H. A. Capillary two-phase flow, part II Refrig Engng
(1957) 65(9) 35-47
8 Erth, R. A. Two-phase flow in refrigeration capillary tubes:
analysis and prediction, Ph.D. thesis, Purdue University,
September (1969)
9 Rezk, A., Awn, A. Investigation on flow of RI2 through capil-
lary tubes Proc 15th Int Congr Refrig (1979) 2 443-452
10 Maczek, K., Krolicki, Z. Non-adiabatic process in throttling
capillary tubes used in packaged units Proe 15th lnt Congr
Refrig Essen, Germany (1981) 49-57
11 Maczek, K., Krolicki, Z., Soehanecka, E. Model of throttling
capillary tube with metastable process Proc 16th Int Congr
ReJ?ig Vienna (1983) 699 707
12 Lin, S., Kwok, C. C. K., Li, R. Y., Chen, Z. H., Chen, Z. Y. Local
frictional pressure drop during vaporisation of RI2 through
capillary tubes Int J Multiphase Flow (1991) 17(1) 95-102
13 Li, R. Y., Lin, S., Chen, Z. Y., Chen, Z. H. Metastable flow of
R12 through capillary tubes lnt J Refrig (1990) 13(3) 181 -186
14 Melo, C., Ferreira, R. T. S., Pereira, R. H. Modelling adiabatic
capillary tubes: a critical analysis Proc lIR-Purdue Refrigeration
ConfWest Lafayette, U.S.A. (1992) 113-123
15 Swart, R. H. Capillary tube heat exchangers Refrig Engng Sep-
tember (1946) 42
16 Pate, M. B. A theoretical and experimental analysis of capillary
tube-suction line heat exchangers, Ph.D. thesis, Purdue Univer-
sity (1982)
17 Dirik, E., Inan, C., Tanes, M. Y. Numerical and experimental
studies on adiabatic and non-adiabatic capillary tubes with
HFC-134a Proc llR-Purdue Re#~eration ConfWest Lafayette,
U.S.A. (1994) 365-370
18 Peixoto, R. A., Bullard, C. W. A simulation and design model
for capillary tube-suction line heat exchangers Int Refrig Con/'
Purdue University, West Lafayette, U.S.A. (1994) 335-340
19 Escanes, F., Perez-Segarra, C. D., Olivia, A. Numerical simula-
tion of capillary tube expansion devices Int J Rel?ig (1995) 18(2)
113 122
20 Bittle, R. R., Stephenson, W. R., Pate, M. B. An evaluation of
the ASHRAE method for predicting capillary tube-suction
line heat exchanger performance ASHRAE Trans (1995) 101(2)
21 Peixoto, R. A. Experimental analysis and numerical simulation
of capillary tube-suction line heat exchangers using refrigerant
HFC-134a Proc 19th Int Congr Ref?~e The Hague. The Nether-
lands (1995) 3(a) 437-443
22 Rupasinghe,A. S. Modelling of capillary tubes for household
refrigerators and freezers, M. E. thesis, University of Auckland,
Auckland, New Zealand (1996)
23 Wijaya, H. Adiabatic capillary tube test data for HFC-134a
Proc lnt Ref?ig Conf on Energy E[~'cieney and Ne~t Re[?igerants
Purdue University, West Lafayette, U.S.A. (1992) 63 ~71
24 Melo, C., Ferreira, R. T. S., Boabaid, N. C., Goncalves, J. M.,
Pereira, R. H., Thiessen, M. R. Evaluation of HC-600a, HFC-
134a and CFC-12 mass flow rates through capillary tubes Proc
New Applications to Reduced Global Warming and Energy Con-
sumption Con[Hannover, Germany (1994)
25 Wong, T. N., Ooi, K. T., Khoo, C. T. A study on capillary tube
flow Proc llR-Purdue ConfWest Lafayette. U.S.A. (1992) 371
376