Numerical analysis of refrigerant flow along non-adiabatic capillary tubes using a two-fluid model

Abstract

This work presents a numerical model to simulate steady state refrigerant now along capillary tube-suction line heat exchangers. commonly used in small refrigeration systems. The flow along the straight and horizontal capillary tube is divided into two regions: a single-phase and a two-phase flow region. The flow is taken as one-dimensional and the metastable flow phenomenon is neglected. The two-fluid model is employed for the two-phase flow region, considering the hydrodynamic and the thermodynamic non-equilibrium between the liquid and vapor phases. Comparisons are made with experimental measurements of the mass flow rate and temperature distribution along capillary tube-suction line heat exchangers working with refrigerant R134a in different operating conditions. The results indicate that the present model provides a good estimation of the refrigerant mass flow rate. Moreover, comparisons with a homogeneous model are also made. Some computational results referring to the quality, void fraction and velocities of each phase are also presented and discussed. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.