Condensation of superheated vapour of R410A and R407C inside plate heat exchangers: Experimental results and simulation procedure

This paper presents experimental results on partial condensation of 15 K superheated vapours of R407C and R410A inside two Brazed Plate Heat Exchanger (BPHE) prototypes with different geometrical characteristics, plate designs and aspect ratios. The condensation heat transfer coefficients have been measured at constant inlet saturation temperature of 41.8 °C and 36.5 °C for R407C and R410A, respectively. The refrigerant mass velocity has been varied from 15 to 40 kg m−2 s−1 whereas the outlet vapour quality between 0.01 and 0.58. The experimental results have also been compared with those previously measured by Mancin et al. (2011) during condensation of R407C and R410A inside a BPHE prototype with different plate dimensions and two refrigerant channels. Furthermore, the condensation heat transfer coefficients have been used to validate a new model recently proposed by Mancin et al. (2011), which can be used to simulate the condensation process through the BPHE.

► New experimental data of heat transfer coefficients during partial condensation.
► Tested fluids: R407C and R410A.
► Heat exchanger geometry: two brazed plate heat exchangers.
► Comparisons with predictions from models available in open literature.
► Validation of a new correlation and step-by-step simulation procedure.