Novel Saturated Flow Boiling Correlations for R600a and R717 Refrigerants

Abstract

This research study provides a detailed analysis of the two-phase flow boiling heat transfer coefficients of R600a and R717. In addition, it proposes novel saturated flow boiling heat transfer correlations for these two refrigerants. In this context, 1306 experimental data points for R600a and 885 data samples for R717 are extracted from the literature works to develop new flow boiling models. Two different correlations are constructed under different forms of baseline frameworks for each refrigerant. The proposed flow boiling model for R600a utilizes the dimensionless numbers and operational parameters of the best performing literature correlations for this refrigerant while the model developed for R717 takes the advantage of piecewise continuous correlation form which successfully trace the tendencies of heat transfer coefficient with varying vapor qualities. It is found that the new model for R600a has a mean absolute error of 12.4% and mean relative error of 0.1, predicting 78.5% of the entire database within ±20.0% error band whereas the proposed correlation for R717 has an absolute error value of 17.3% having 65.3% of the data within ±20.0% error band, which are much better and accurate estimations compared to those obtained by the existing flow boiling models for R717 refrigerant.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Oguz Emrah Turgut

Oguz Emrah Turgut graduated with a B.Sc. from Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey, in 2008 and M.Sc. from Ege University, Izmir, Turkey, in 2011. He graduated from Ege University in 2016 with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. He is now an assistant professor in Izmir Bakircay University. His research interests include thermodynamics, heat transfer, and computer science.

Hadi Genceli

Hadi Genceli is a Mechanical Engineering faculty member in Yildiz Technical University. His research works focus on renewable energy applications, heat transfer, and thermal energy storage systems. He has published more than 40 research papers in international journals and conference proceedings.

Mustafa Asker

Mustafa Asker is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Aydın Adnan Menderes University. He received his PhD degree from Ege University in 2012. His main research interests are phase change material, thermal energy storage and numerical heat transfer.

Mustafa Turhan Çoban

Mustafa Turhan Coban received his B.Sc. degree from Ege University Department of Mechanical Engineering in 1978, and his M.Sc. degree in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University in 1982. He graduated from the University of Utah in 1986 with a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering. He is now an associate professor at Ege University. His research interests are fuel cell technologies, multi-phase flow, air conditioning, and computer science.