Full-Core Test Method for Experimental Determination of Convective Boiling Heat Transfer Coefficients in Tubes of Crossflow Compact Evaporators

An experimental methodology is proposed in which localized convective boiling heat transfer coefficients inside the tubes of compact evaporators are determined by testing of full evaporator cores. The proposed technique makes use of a special test system having two main flow circuits. One of these flow loops is a conventional vapor compression system, which provides a steady, low-quality, two-phase flow of refrigerant to the tube side of the evaporator. The second primary flow loop provides a steady flow of the vapor of a second working fluid, which condenses on the finned side of the evaporator. Measured data from this system are analyzed using an iterative scheme. Trends in the variation of the refrigerant-side heat transfer coefficient determined by this method throughout a typical evaporator core are described, and the differences and similarities relative to previously published results for single round tubes are discussed.