Time periodic evaporation heat transfer of R-134a in a narrow annular duct due to mass flow rate oscillation

Abstract An investigation into the effect of mass flow rate oscillation on the R-134a evaporation heat transportation in a horizontal annular duct was experimentally conducted. The experiments were performed at different amplitudes (10, 20, and 30%) and periods (20, 30, 60, and 120 s) of the mass flux oscillation in a duct with different gap sizes (1.0, 2.0 and 5.0 mm). In this regard, the time variations of evaporation heat transportation coefficient and the heated wall temperature were also analyzed for the thermal characteristics of the oscillatory evaporation heat transfer. Measured results showed that the amplitude and period of the mass flux oscillation insignificantly affected the time-average heat transportation coefficient for the R-134a oscillatory evaporation heat transfer. However, the larger amplitudes and longer periods of the mass flux oscillation led to stronger wall temperature oscillations.