Partial condensation of R407C and R410A refrigerants inside a plate heat exchanger

This work investigates the condensation heat transfer of two refrigerants mixtures, R407C and R410A, in a brazed plate heat exchanger (BPHE) reporting the experimental measurements of the heat transfer coefficient. The prototype consists of six plates with two refrigerant ducts and three water channels. The condensation heat transfer coefficients of R407C and R410A have been measured at constant inlet saturation pressure of 1.6 MPa and 2.2 MPa, respectively. For both refrigerants, the superheating at the inlet of the heat exchanger was around 15 K; the mass flux has been varied from 15 to 40 kg m−2 s−1 whereas the outlet vapour quality has been changed between 0.07 and 0.58 in order to investigate the effect of vapour quality. The experimental measurements have been compared against three models suggested in the open literature; moreover, a new computation procedure for the design of BPHE condensers has been developed and validated against the present experimental database.

► New experimental data of heat transfer coefficients during partial condensation.
► Tested fluids: R407C and R410A.
► Heat exchanger geometry: brazed plate heat exchanger.
► Comparisons with predictions from models available in open literature.
► Proposal of a new correlation.