- By:
- Yang, Cheng-Min ; Murugan, Muneeshwaran ; Seay, Troy W; Sharma, Vishaldeep ; Cheekatamarla, Praveen K; Nawaz, Kashif
- Page Number:
- 2506
- Book Title:
- The 20th International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference at Purdue
- Publication Date:
- March 12, 2026
- Publisher Location:
- Purdue University, Indiana, United States of America
- Conference Name:
- 20th International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference at Purdue
- Conference Location:
- West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
- Conference Sponsor:
- Purdue University
Abstract
The hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) refrigerants used in the current refrigeration systems are facing a phase-down due to their higher greenhouse effect resulting in global warming, and thus HVAC&R industry has undergone a transition to low Global Warming Potential (GWP) refrigerants. Refrigerant mixtures are attractive alternatives since their composition can be tailored to comply with environmental regulations while preserving favorable thermophysical properties. However, the new low-GWP zeotropic mixture refrigerants have two or more components with different saturation temperatures at the same pressure level, known as temperature glide, which can cause the degradation of the overall heat transfer performance. The brazed plate heat exchangers (BPHX) provide excellent heat transfer performance due to a compact design and are used in several air-conditioning and refrigeration applications. In this study, flow boiling heat transfer and the associated pressure drop of the refrigerant mixture in a vertical BPHX were experimentally investigated. The single-phase water-to-water experiments were conducted in the tested heat exchanger with a counter-flow configuration. The flow boiling experiments charged with R-134a and R-454C were then performed in a pumped refrigerant loop to evaluate its thermal-hydraulic performance. Furthermore, parametric studies of various heat fluxes, mass fluxes, vapor qualities, and saturation temperatures were also conducted.
