Flow boiling in horizontal flattened tubes: Part I – Two-phase frictional pressure drop results and model

Experiments of diabatic two-phase pressure drops in flow boiling were conducted in four horizontal flattened smooth copper tubes with two different heights of 2 and 3 mm. The equivalent diameters of the flat tubes are 8.6, 7.17. 6.25, and 5.3 mm. The working fluids are R22 and R410A, respectively. The test conditions are: mass velocities from 150 to 500 kg/m(2) s, heat fluxes from 6 to 40 kW/m(2) and saturation temperature of 5 degrees C (reduced pressures p(r) are 0.12 for R22 and 0.19 for R410A). The experimental results of two-phase pressure drops are presented and analyzed. Furthermore, the predicted two-phase frictional pressure drops by the flow pattern based two-phase pressure drop model of Moreno Quiben and Thome [J. Moreno Quiben, J.R. Thome, Flow pattern based two-phase frictional pressure drop model for horizontal tubes, Part I: Diabatic and adiabatic experimental study, Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow 28 (2007) 1049-1059; J. Moreno Quiben, J.R. Thome, Flow pattern based two-phase frictional pressure drop model for horizontal tubes, Part II: New phenomenological model, Int. J. Heat Fluid Flow 28 (2007) 1060-1072] using the equivalent diameters were compared to the experimental data. The model, however, underpredicts the flattened tube two-phase frictional pressure drop data. Therefore, correction to the annular flow friction factor was proposed for the flattened tubes and now the method predicts 83.7% of the flattened tube pressure drop data within +/- 30%. The model is applicable to the flattened tubes in the test condition range in the present study. Extension of the model to other conditions should be verified with experimental data. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved