Title: A new distributor selection methodology for refrigeration cycles

Authors: Habip Akın Hacımusalar; Mehmed Rafet Özdemir; Mehmet Harun Sökücü; Ahmet Selim Dalkiliç

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Marmara University, Eğitim, Fahrettin Kerim Gökay Cd., 34722 Kadıköy/İstanbul, Turkey ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Marmara University, Eğitim, Fahrettin Kerim Gökay Cd., 34722 Kadıköy/İstanbul, Turkey ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Marmara University, Eğitim, Fahrettin Kerim Gökay Cd., 34722 Kadıköy/İstanbul, Turkey ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Marmara University, Eğitim, Fahrettin Kerim Gökay Cd., 34722 Kadıköy/İstanbul, Turkey

Abstract: The pressure gradient analysis is important to be able to observe the homogeneity of the refrigerant and to choose the correct distributor equipment in refrigeration cycles. This research proposes a new method for determining the two-phase pressure gradient accurately compared to existing methods. Two-phase pressure gradient determination approach of Chisholm was modified by integrating the flow pattern map of Thome and Cioncolini. The thermophysical properties of refrigerant 404A were obtained through EES software and the proposed method was coded in the same software. The two-phase pressure gradient results of the proposed method were verified using the experimental data for the refrigerant 404A and compared with the commonly used methods and correlations. It was found that the proposed method predicted the experimental data of R404A better compared to other methods and correlations. The proposed method accurately determines the two-phase pressure drop under superheating and subcooling conditions for various tube wall thicknesses.

Keywords: two phase pressure gradients; distributor; flow distribution; refrigeration cycle; climate change; global warming.

DOI: 10.1504/IJGW.2023.128833

International Journal of Global Warming, 2023 Vol.29 No.1/2, pp.16 - 29

Received: 30 Nov 2021
Accepted: 21 Feb 2022
Published online: 07 Feb 2023 *

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