The Effect of Heat Exchanger Type on Two-Phase Heat Transfer Coefficient and Pressure Drop

Three different types of heat exchangers were tested experimentally to investigate two-phase heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop during the condensation process of CO₂ gas. Experimental results revealed that the convection heat transfer coefficient was enhanced by a factor of four due to the existence of porous media and by a factor of seven due to the use of micro-pipes when compared to the normal macro-tubes. The pressure drop was measured and noticed only in porous tubes and micro-pipes, reaching about 17.5 kPa/m and 8.4 kPa/m, respectively. Comparisons between experimental and correlated results were conducted.