An Experimental Investigation of Condensation Heat Transfer Coefficients and Pressure Drops of Refrigerants Inside Multiport Mini-channel Tubes

The condensation heat transfer coefficients and pressure drops of R410A and R22 flowing inside a horizontal aluminum multiport mini-channel tube having 18 channels are investigated. Experimental data are presented for the range of vapor quality from 0.1 to 0.9, mass flux from 50 to 500kg/m2s, heat flux from 3 to 15kW/m2 and the saturation temperature at 48∘C. The pressure drop across the test section was directly measured by a differential pressure transducer. At a small scale, the noncircular cross-sections can enhance the effect of the surface tension. The average heat transfer coefficient increased with the increase of vapor quality, mass flux and heat flux. Under the same test conditions, the heat transfer coefficients of R22 are higher than those for R410A, the pressure drops for R410A are 7–19% lower than those of R22. The lower pressure drop of R410A has an important advantage as an alternative working fluid for R22 in air-conditioning and heat pump systems.