Prediction of Heat Transfer Coefficient and Pressure Drop in Wire Heat Exchanger Working with R-134a and R-600a

Abstract

An experimental and theoretical works were carried out to model the wire condenser in the domestic refrigerator by calculating the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop and finding the optimum performance. The two methods were used for calculation, zone method, and an integral method. The work was conducted by using two wire condensers with equal length but different in tube diameters, two refrigerants, R-134a and R-600a, and two different compressors matching the refrigerant type. In the experimental work, the optimum charge was found for the refrigerator according to ASHRAE recommendation. Then, the tests were done at 32˚C ambient temperature in a closed room with dimension (2m*2m*3m). The results showed that the average heat transfer coefficient for the R-600a was higher than the R-134a, so the length of the wire tube was longer with R-134a than R-600a. The pressure drop for the smaller tube diameter was higher than the other tube. The second law thermodynamic efficiency was higher for R-600a, which reached 41%.  The entropy generation minimization analysis showed that the R-600a refrigerant type and smaller tube diameter are approached the optimum point.