Analytical study on the heat transfer characteristics of a spirally coiled circular fin-tube evaporator operated under non-frosting conditions

Abstract

The objective of this study is to predict the heat-transfer performance of a spirally coiled circular fin-tube evaporator in which either R134a or R600a was used; this heat-transfer performance was predicted by varying the mass flow rate, inlet air temperature, air flow rate, and tube thickness. Mean deviation for the analytical model from the measured data was ±8.3%. Simulation results revealed that at a given mass flow rate, the heat-transfer rate of the evaporator using R600a was higher than that usingR134a because the enthalpy of the former is higher than that of the latter at the given conditions. The heat-transfer rate of both refrigerants increased with an increase in the air flow rate and inlet air temperature but decreased with an increase in the tube thickness. © 2011 The Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers.