Thermo-hydraulic behavior of ice slurry in an offset strip-fin plate heat exchanger

•Analysis of an offset strip-fin heat exchanger with ice slurry is carried out.•An empirical correlation in terms Colburn j-factor is determined.•Pressure drop measurements with different flow rates and ice fractions are shown.•Flow rate instabilities due to partial blockage are determined.

Ice slurry is a promising alternative to conventional single-phase coolants in indirect refrigeration systems. In this paper, an experimental analysis of an offset strip-fin heat exchanger operating with ice slurry as working fluid is presented. The pressure drop and thermal performance have been determined. In order to obtain the partial thermal resistance in the ice slurry side an empirical correlation for the secondary fluid side was determined by applying the Wilson plot method in a set of tests performed previously. An empirical correlation in terms of the Colburn j-factor to describe the thermal behavior of the heat exchanger with ice slurry was obtained. On the other hand, the direct pressure drop measurements operating with different flow rates and ice fractions are shown and compared with values obtained with single-phase fluids. Pressure drop instabilities have been observed for flow rates lower than the nominal value provided by the manufacturer.