A correlation for heat transfer during condensation in horizontal mini/micro channels

• Predictive methods for condensation heat transfer in minichannels are reviewed.
• A database is prepared with 1017 data points from 67 data sets from 31 sources.
• A new correlation is presented which has mean absolute deviation of 15.5%.
• Database is also compared to other correlations. New correlation found most accurate.
• A simple new criterion for boundary between mini and micro channels is proposed.

A correlation is presented for heat transfer during condensation in horizontal mini/micro channels. It has been verified with data for 13 fluids (water, CO2, halocarbon refrigerants, and hydrocarbons) in single and multi channels of many shapes, with hydraulic diameter from 0.10 to 2.8 mm, aspect ratio from 0.14 to 13.9, reduced pressure from 0.0055 to 0.94, and mass flux from 20 to 1400 kg m−2s−1. This correlation predicts 1017 data points from 67 data sets from 31 sources with a mean absolute deviation of 15.5%. The same data are also compared with some other correlations.