Analysis of condensation flow pattern and heat transfer of a cryogenic loop heat pipe with different heating powers

The cryogenic fluids' flow performance and condensation characteristics with different heating powers in cryogenic loop heat pipes (CLHPs) have not been studied due to the difficulty of measurement at low temperature. In this study, a test system was designed and fabricated to characterize the condensation flow patterns of a propylene CLHP and its heat transfer performance with different heating powers. The results show that the two-phase region length and flow pattern in the condenser were closely related to the operation mode of the CLHP. The vapor front in the condenser oscillated at the condenser inlet at a low heating power, which resulted in an unstable operation of the CLHP. Moreover, by comparing the condensation heat transfer coefficient (HTC) with the condensation correlations, the Cavallini correlation is recommended for the design of CLHP condenser.

Experimental and Numerical Analysis of Condensation Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop of Refrigerant R22 in Minichannels of a Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger

A Printed Circuit Heat Exchanger (PCHE) is a type of highly complete and efficient heat exchanger that consists of numerous mini/micro-channels and has been successfully applied to the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) regasification project. During the research presented in this paper, the condensation flow and heat transfer performance of the R22 in PCHE hot side minichannels are analyzed via experiments and numerical simulations, respectively. A liquid nitrogen–R22 experimental loop is established to examine the pressure difference and heat transfer coefficient of R22 in the minichannels of the PCHE hot side. The inlet pressures of the R22 range from 0.5 MPa to 0.65 MPa, the mass flux values are changed from 10.52 kg m−2s−1 to 109.42 kg m−2s−1, and the inlet temperatures vary from 273 K to 289 K. The differences between experiments and simulations are analyzed by comparing the experimental values of the Nusselt number (Nu) and the friction pressure gradient with the numerical ones. Furthermore, the influences of pressure and mass flux on the Nu, as well as the friction pressure gradient, are analyzed in depth through condensation flow regimes to explore the underlying mechanism giving the results.