ISSN print edition: 0366-6352 ISSN electronic edition: 1336-9075 Registr. No.: MK SR 9/7 Published monthly

Heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop during refrigerant R-134a condensation in a plate heat exchanger

Emila M. Djordjević, Stephan Kabelac, and Slobodan P. Šerbanović

Department of Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Technology and Metallurgy, University of Belgrade, Karnegijeva 4, 11120 Belgrade, Serbia

E-mail: emila@tmf.bg.ac.yu

Received: 28 March 2007  Revised: 30 August 2007  Accepted: 9 September 2007

Abstract: The condensation heat transfer coefficient and the two-phase pressure drop of refrigerant R-134a in a vertical plate heat exchanger were investigated experimentally. The area of the plate was divided into several segments along the vertical axis. For each of the segments, local values of the heat transfer coefficient and frictional pressure drop were calculated and presented as a function of the mean vapor quality in the segment. Owing to the thermocouples installed along the plate surface, it was possible to determine the temperature distribution and vapor quality profile inside the plate. The influences of the mass flux and the heat flux on the heat transfer coefficient and the pressure drop were also taken into account and a comparison with previously published experimental data and literature correlations was carried out.

Keywords: plate heat exchanger - condensation - R-134a - heat transfer coefficient - pressure drop

Full paper is available at www.springerlink.com.

DOI: 10.2478/s11696-007-0082-8

Chemical Papers 62 (1) 78–85 (2008)