Visualization study on the uniformity of refrigerant distribution in parallel multi-channels

Huang, Y., Wei, C., Wang, S. and Lu, Y. (2022) Visualization study on the uniformity of refrigerant distribution in parallel multi-channels. Applied Thermal Engineering, 213, 118804. (doi: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2022.118804)

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Abstract

Heat pump technology is a battery thermal management technology with considerable potential and which has obvious advantages in environmental adaptability and energy saving. The small-channel heat exchanger is an important part of the heat pump system, and the uniformity of the two-phase refrigerant in the header and branch channels is one of the key issues that restrict the performance of the system. In this paper, a two-phase flow visualization phase separation experimental platform, with R1233zd(E) as the working fluid, was established to study the refrigerant distribution in small parallel multi-channels (3 mm). Three inlet configurations are designed, and two types of operating conditions are tested. Moreover, the gas-liquid two-phase boundary in channels is extracted to calculate the average void fraction based on the OpenCV graphics processing function libraries. The key conclusions of the current study are as follows: (1) The two-phase distribution uniformity under the lower inlet method is improved by 50–90% compared with the middle inlet and upper inlet methods. (2) A superior gas-liquid two-phase distribution in channels can be achieved under lower inlet quality (0.01) and lower inlet mass flux (300 kg/(m2•s)). (3) The average void fraction in each channel is almost always positively correlated with the average pressure gradient.

Item Type:Articles
Additional Information:The authors would like to thank the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number 52076193) for their financial support.
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Lu, Dr Yiji
Authors: Huang, Y., Wei, C., Wang, S., and Lu, Y.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
Journal Name:Applied Thermal Engineering
Publisher:Elsevier
ISSN:1359-4311
ISSN (Online):1359-4311
Published Online:09 June 2022
Copyright Holders:Copyright © 2022 The Authors
First Published:First published in Applied Thermal Engineering 213: 118804
Publisher Policy:Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

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