516
HVAC&R
RESEARCH
oil concentration. The authors attributed this to the increase of the mixture viscosity. By assum-
ing annular flow, the authors proposed an empirical correlation. The correlation had the same
form for both the pure refrigerant and refrigerantíoil mixtures. In the case of the refìigerant/oil
mixture, the refrigeranuoil mixture viscosity and density were used in the correlation. As a
result, the predicted heat transfer coefficient of the refrigeranuoil mixtures had the same accu-
racy as that
of
the pure refngerant. It has to be noted that the reviewed literature studies did not
veri@ the hypothesis that the condensation heat transfer coefficient consistently increases as
the viscosity of the oil decreases. It seems that other factors, such as mass flux, the resulting
flow regime, and the dew point, have impacts on the condensing heat transfer coefficient as
well and can compensate the impact of the viscosity. For example, Eckcls
et
al. (1994b)
reported that the mixture of R-134a-169
SUS
oil has a higher heat transfer coefficient at low
mass flux and a lower heat transfer coefficient at high mass flux compared to the mixture of
R-134a-369
SUS
oil, although the 369
SUS
oil has a higher viscosity than the 169
SUS
oil. It
indicates that the increased mixture viscosity may not be the only factor to imp&t the conden-
sation heat transfer coefficient.
Effect
of
Vapor
Quality.
Cho and Tae
(2001)
found that the heat transfer coefficient of
R-22/oil and R-407C/oil decreased with an increase in inlet quality. The author attributed this to
an increase in average liquid phase viscosity. Cawte (1992) indicated that the presence of oil at
low concentrations has an insignificant effect on the heat transfer coefficient at low qualities but
becomes more pronounced at higher qualities. However, at high oil concentrations of 10% or
more, the oil presence affects the heat transfer coefficient uniformly over the entire quality range
due to the pronounced increase in liquid viscosity. Fukushima and Kudou (1990) studied the
condensation heat transfer of refrigerandoil mixtures at varying qualities. The authors reported
on a specific heat transfer characteristic of refrigerant/oil mixtures during condensation. In gen-
eral, the pure refngerant condensation coefficient decreases toward lower vapor qualities
because the liquid film is getting thicker. In case of refrigerant/oil mixtures, the authors
observed a maximum in heat transfer coefficient since there are
two
opposing factors in the liq-
uid film that affect the heat transfer coefficient. At high vapor qualities, the liquid film is thin
but oil-rich, which results in a higher mass transfer resistance effect and higher viscosity in the
film. As the vapor quality decreases, the liquid film becomes thicker, but more dissolved refrig-
erant decreases the effects
of
the lubricant in the film. Hence, there was a peak of the condensing
heat transfer coefficient when quality decreased, which was apparent at high oil concentration.
In general, there is little agreement about the lubricant influences at high vapor quality regions.
At high qualities, the viscosity and mass transfer resistance effect in the liquid film are more
pronounced, which may reduce the heat transfer. However, high oil concentrations at high vapor
qualities result in a significant increase in the dew temperature, which increases the heat transfer
driving potential. Thus, there is a trade-off in heat transfer at high qualities.
Research Methods and Correlations for Refrigerant/Oil Convective Condensation
The lubricant influence on convective condensation heat transfer
is
rather consistent in that it
always seems
to
degrade the heat transfer. Thome (1998) concluded that the increase in mixture
viscosity due to the oil is the most important factor influencing the heat transfer. Thome recom-
mended using the refrigerant/oil mixture liquid viscosity directly in a pure refrigerant correla-
tion. He indicated that this method would predict accurate tendencies due to the increase of the
oil
concentration with quality. Schlager et al. (1990) indicated that the refrigerant/oil mixture
properties can be substituted into pure refrigerant correlation to predict the mixture’s heat trans-
fer coefficient only if the lubricant (the second component) does not cause an unexpected phe-
nomenon in the mixture. Thus, it seems feasible to use a correlation for the pure refrigerant heat
transfer coefficient to predict the heat transfer coefficient of the refrigeradoi1 mixture by
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