External Condensation of HFE 7000 and HFE 7100 Refrigerants in Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers

Abstract

The paper describes the results of experimental studies of media as an intermediary in heat exchange taking place in low volume conditions. Their properties predestine them both as a future-proof for transporting and storing heat materials. The paper concerns the current topic related to the miniaturization of cooling heat exchangers. There are many studies in the literature on the phase transition of refrigerants in the flow in pipe minichannels. However, there is a lack of studies devoted to the condensation process in a small volume on the surface of pipe minichannels. The authors proposed a design of a small heat exchanger with a shell-and-tube structure, where the refrigerant condenses on the outer surface of the pipe minichannels cooled from the inside with water. It is a response to the global trend of building highly efficient, miniaturized structures for cooling and air conditioning heat exchangers. Two future-proof, ecological replacements of the CFC refrigerants still present in the installations were used for the experimental research. These are low-pressure fluids HFE 7000 and HFE 7100. The tests were carried out in a wide range of changes in thermal-flow parameters: G = 20–700 kg·m−2s−1, q = 3000–60,000 W·m−2, ts = 40–80 °C.