Experimental investigation of R134A flow in a 1.65 mm copper minitube

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Tezin Türü: Yüksek Lisans

Tezin Yürütüldüğü Kurum: Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi, Mühendislik Fakültesi, Makina Mühendisliği Bölümü, Türkiye

Tezin Onay Tarihi: 2011

Öğrenci: BİLGEHAN TEKİN

Danışman: ALMILA GÜVENÇ YAZICIOĞLU

Özet:

This thesis investigates the refrigerant (R-134a) flow in a minitube experimentally. The small scale heat transfer is a relatively new research area and has been in favor since the end of 1970’s. Refrigerant flow in mini- and microscale media is a potential enhancement factor for refrigeration technology in the future. For the forthcoming developments and progresses, experimental studies are invaluable in terms of having an insight and contributing to the establishment of infrastructure in the field in addition to leading the numerical and theoretical approaches. The studies in the literature show that low mass flow rate and constant wall temperature approach in minitubes and minichannels were not among the main areas of interest. Therefore, an experimental set-up was prepared in order to perform experiments of two-phase refrigerant flow in a 1.65 mm diameter copper minitube with the constant wall temperature approach. The design, preparation, and modifications of the experimental set-up are explained in this thesis. Two-phase flow and quality arrangements were done by pre-heating the refrigerant at saturation pressure and the constant wall temperature was achieved by a secondary cycle with water and ethylene glycol mixture as the working fluid. The heat transfer coefficient and the pressure drop for the two-phase flow with varying quality values and saturation temperatures of the refrigerant were calculated and compared with the results available in literature.