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Numerical Simulation of the Condensation Flow of the Isobutane (R600a) inside Microchannel

2021    Basaran, Anil; Benim, Ali Cemal; Yurddas, Ali

A numerical investigation of the condensing flow of isobutane inside microchannel has been performed. Impact of mass flux, hydraulic diameter, and vapor quality on the heat transfer rate and pressure drop is determined. To this purpose, steady-state numerical simulations of condensation flow of isobutane have been performed at mass fluxes ranging from 200 to 600 kg/m(2)s inside a single circular microchannel with varying diameter. Similar to the usual operation conditions, the simulations have been conducted for constant saturation temperature and constant wall heat flux as the thermal boundary condition. The proposed model has been based on the volume of fluid approach, which is an interface tracking method. The Lee model has been used to model the phase change mass transfer at the interface. A verification study has been performed by comparing the proposed model results with the experimental and visual data available in the literature. The currently available correlations are assessed by comparisons with the simulation results. Based on the presently validated simulations, a new correlation has been proposed for the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop of isobutane condensing flow inside small-scale channels. This is a novel aspect of the present paper, since such a correlation does not yet exist.