Review of Variable Geometry Air-to-Refrigerant Heat Exchangers

Conference · Mon Aug 21 04:00:00 UTC 2023

DOI:https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.icr.2023.0622· OSTI ID:2448603

O'Malley, Brian ^[1]; Aute, Vikrant; Bacellar, Daniel; Radermacher, Reinhard

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1. University of Maryland

Air-to-refrigerant heat exchangers (HXs) are fundamental components to HVAC&R systems and as a result there is an ever-increasing need for performance and packaging improvements. Typically, HX’s are designed in uniform arrangements with the goal of providing the necessary heat transfer for minimal material costs. Recent research on fin tube heat exchangers (FTHX) with variation in one or more key parameters has shown significant potential for increasing heat transfer, reducing pressure losses, and making HXs more resilient to environmental externalities like airflow maldistribution and frost accumulation. In particular, researchers have increased heat transfer by 7.6% and j/f by 16% via non-uniform tube and winglet shapes. Additionally, multiple cases have shown that variable geometry heat exchangers (VGHX) are able to match the performance of conventional HXs with reductions in material mass and envelope volume of up to 33% and 40%, respectively. This paper presents a literature review of VGHXs specifically with regards to non-uniform FTHX’s.

• Research Organization: University of Maryland
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office
• DOE Contract Number: EE0009677
• OSTI ID: 2448603
• Report Number(s): DOEBTO-UMD-9677-23-BO1
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
Airflow Maldistribution
Fin-Tube
Heat Exchanger
Variable Geometry