Accurate and inexpensive thermal time-of-flight sensor for measuring refrigerant flow in minichannels

Mahvi, Allison J.; El Fil, Bachir; Garimella, Srinivas

doi:10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2018.11.133

Title: Accurate and inexpensive thermal time-of-flight sensor for measuring refrigerant flow in minichannels

Journal Article · 06 December 2018 · International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheatmasstransfer.2018.11.133 · OSTI ID:1613578

Mahvi, Allison J. ^[1]; El Fil, Bachir ^[2]; Garimella, Srinivas ^[2]

Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States); DOE/OSTI
Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

Thermal flow meters are good candidates for measuring flow rates in small diameter channels because they can be integrated into compact geometries and consist of only a few simple components. A new thermal time-of-flight (TOF) flow sensor is developed in this report for measuring liquid refrigerant velocities in minichannels. The sensor consists of a small heater and two downstream thermocouples. The heater is pulsed to induce a temperature rise in the fluid, and the time for the temperature pulse to reach the downstream thermocouples is measured. Insights from the data and a simplified one-dimensional transient model are used to calibrate the device. The calibration relates the time of flight to both the average refrigerant velocity and local temperature gradients in the fluid. The calibrated TOF device can detect refrigerant velocities between 1 and 20, mm s^-1, measuring 98.7% of the data to within ±3% of the full scale (±0.6 mm s^-1).

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Research Organization:: Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)

Grant/Contract Number:: AR0000370

OSTI ID:: 1613578

Journal Information:: International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Journal Name: International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer Journal Issue: C Vol. 132; ISSN 0017-9310

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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42 ENGINEERING
minichannel
refrigerants
thermal flow meter
time of flight

Title: Accurate and inexpensive thermal time-of-flight sensor for measuring refrigerant flow in minichannels

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References (24)

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