Condensation of R134a in a Staggered Bundle of Horizontal Finned Tubes

Experimental results are presented that show the effect of fin geometry on the condensation of refrigerant R134a in a staggered bundle of horizontal finned tubes. Two types of conventional low-fin tubes and three types of three-dimensional fin tubes were tested. The refrigerant mass velocity ranged from 8 to 23kg/m^2s and the condensation temperature difference from 1.5 to 12K. In most cases, the highest performance was obtained by one of the three-dimensional fin tubes. In the case of high mass velocity and high film Reynolds number, however, the highest performance was obtained by one of the low-fin tubes. The results were compared with previous experimental results for bundles of smooth tubes and low-fin tubes