Key
2367
Conference Year
2012
Keywords
R32, BPHE, condensation
Abstract
It is well known that when a superheated gas reaches a cold surface, the condensation starts immediately only if the wall temperature is lower than the dew temperature of the refrigerant; in this case, the heat transfer phenomenon can be also affected by the superheating temperature. This paper presents the experimental measurements of the heat transfer coefficient carried out during partial condensation of superheated R32 refrigerant in a commercial brazed plate heat exchanger prototype. The present work aims at highlighting the effects of the superheating during the partial condensation of R32 by imposing 5, 10, 15, and 25 K of vapour superheating at the inlet of the brazed plate heat exchanger prototype. The experimental measurements were carried out by varying the specific mass velocity between 15 and 40 kg m-2 s-1 and the outlet vapour quality between 0.0 and 0.65. The experimental data were collected at around 36.5 °C saturation temperature (saturation pressure of 2.27 MPa). The present data is used to validate a new step-by-step model for the calculation of the heat transfer coefficient, which accounts for the different superheating inlet temperatures.