A study of droplet entrainment in falling-film evaporators

Liang Han Chien, Yung Jen Chen, Chien Wei Chen, Kuo Shu Hung

Research output: Contribution to conferenceConference Paperpeer-review

Abstract

In this paper, the flow distribution inside a falling-film-type evaporator is studied. By the visualization experiment, the droplet entrainment of refrigerant inside an evaporator is simulated. Since the liquid and vapor flow counter currently, the droplet entrainment is an important issue. The experiment was performed with the airflow varied from 192CFM to 384CFM, and the water flow rate varied from 90LPM to 180LPM. Three types (tubular type, plate type, and triangular type) of fluid distributors were tested. The experimental indicated that the triangular type yielded the most significant liquid entrainment, while the tube type had the least entrainment problem. Additionally, the results of CFD (computational fluid dynamics) were compared with the experimental values. The larger flow space results in lower flow velocity, and reduces the possibility of liquid entrainment. The maximum flow velocity is an important parameter to identify the tendency of liquid entrainment. One expects no entrainment problem when velocity is less than 1.6 m/s. The triangular fluid distributor has the highest possibility of liquid droplet entrainment, followed by the plate type distributor. The tubular distributor yielded uniform velocity and the lowest possibility of liquid entrainment.

Original languageEnglish
StatePublished - 2014
Externally publishedYes
Event7th Asian Conference on Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, ACRA 2014 - Jeju Island, Korea, Republic of
Duration: 18 05 201421 05 2014

Conference

Conference7th Asian Conference on Refrigeration and Air Conditioning, ACRA 2014
Country/TerritoryKorea, Republic of
CityJeju Island
Period18/05/1421/05/14

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