TY - JOUR

T1 - Performance of residential air-conditioning systems with flow maldistribution in fin-and-tube evaporators

A1 - Kærn,Martin Ryhl

A1 - Brix,Wiebke

A1 - Elmegaard,Brian

A1 - Larsen,Lars Finn Sloth

AU - Kærn,Martin Ryhl

AU - Brix,Wiebke

AU - Elmegaard,Brian

AU - Larsen,Lars Finn Sloth

PB - Elsevier Ltd.

PY - 2011

Y1 - 2011

N2 - Refrigerant and airflow maldistribution in fin-and-tube evaporators for residential air-conditioning was investigated with numerical modeling. Fin-and-tube heat exchangers usually have a pre-defined circuitry. However, the objective in this study was to perform a generic investigation of each individual maldistribution source in an independent manner. Therefore, the evaporator and the condenser were simplified to be straight tubes for the purposes of this study. The numerical model of the R410A system, its verification and an investigation of individual maldistribution sources are presented in this paper. The maldistribution sources of interest were: inlet liquid/vapor phase distribution, feeder tube bending and airflow distribution. The results show that maldistribution reduced the cooling capacity and the coefficient of performance of the system. In particular, different phase distribution and non-uniform airflow distribution reduced the performance significantly. Different feeder tube bendings only caused a minor decrease in performance.

AB - Refrigerant and airflow maldistribution in fin-and-tube evaporators for residential air-conditioning was investigated with numerical modeling. Fin-and-tube heat exchangers usually have a pre-defined circuitry. However, the objective in this study was to perform a generic investigation of each individual maldistribution source in an independent manner. Therefore, the evaporator and the condenser were simplified to be straight tubes for the purposes of this study. The numerical model of the R410A system, its verification and an investigation of individual maldistribution sources are presented in this paper. The maldistribution sources of interest were: inlet liquid/vapor phase distribution, feeder tube bending and airflow distribution. The results show that maldistribution reduced the cooling capacity and the coefficient of performance of the system. In particular, different phase distribution and non-uniform airflow distribution reduced the performance significantly. Different feeder tube bendings only caused a minor decrease in performance.

KW - Air conditioning

KW - Simulation

KW - Finned tube

KW - Cooling

KW - Modeling

U2 - 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2010.12.010

DO - 10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2010.12.010

JO - International Journal of Refrigeration

JF - International Journal of Refrigeration

SN - 0140-7007

IS - 3

VL - 34

SP - 696

EP - 706

ER -