Abstract
This paper presents a model analysis of oil effects on the distribution of two phase refrigerant in a parallel flow microchannel evaporator. A microchannel evaporator model developed and presented earlier (SAE paper 2012-01-0321) is enhanced by inclusion of the thermodynamic and transport properties of refrigerant-oil mixture and their impact on boiling heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics. R134a and PAG oil are selected as the working pair. Viscosity effect and OCR effect on refrigerant distribution are investigated using this model, and the results show that 1) High viscosity is detrimental for refrigerant distribution. 2) As OCR increases, distribution becomes worse; but at very high OCR, distribution becomes better. Some initial experimental results show that distribution becomes worse when OCR changes from 0.1% to 3%.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 567-575 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | SAE International Journal of Materials and Manufacturing |
| Volume | 6 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2013 |
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Mechanics of Materials
- Mechanical Engineering
- Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering