lnt J. Refrig. Vol. 20, No. 3, pp.

218-228, 1997
1997Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR
All rights reserved. Printed in Great Britain
ELSEVIER PII: S0140-7007(96)00052-7 0140-7007/97/$17.00 + 0.00

CYRANO: a computational model for the detailed design

of plate-fin-and-tube heat exchangers using pure and
mixed refrigerants
A. Bensafi 1., S. B o r g 1 and D . Parent ~
1 C E T I A T , 2 7 - 2 9 Bd d u 11 N o v e m b r e 1918, B P 2042, 69603
V i l l e u r b a n n e Cedex, F r a n c e
2LTEE-Hydro-Quebec, Canada
Received 14 February 1996; revised 8 August 1996

A computational model for the detailed design of finned coils has been developed. This
programme discretises heat exchangers into tube elements for which the governing
equations are solved using local values of temperature, pressure, physical properties and
heat transfer coefficients. Single-phase, condenser and evaporator cases can be
automatically treated using water, R22, R134a, and refrigerant mixtures based on
R32, R125, and R134a. The software can handle non-conventional coil circuits with
different numbers of inlets and outlets, non-uniform air distribution at the coil inlet face,
using smooth, wavy and louvered fins, and smooth and internally finned tubes. The
programme has been validated on seven finned coils using pure fluids, with and without
moisture condensation on the fins. Comparisons with tests show errors of less than 5%
on the coil duty and of the order of 30% on the refrigerant pressure drop. A performance
simulation of a coil using R22 and a ternary mixture is presented to validate the
programme algorithms developed for mixtures. 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR
(Keywords: heat transfer; heat exchanger; finned tube; battery; simulation; heat transfer coefficient;
pressure loss, calculation)

CYRANO: un mod61e de calcul pour la conception

d6taill6e d'6changeurs de chaleur 5. tubes et
plaques-ailettes utilisant des frigorig6nes
purs et en m61ange
On a mis au point un modele de calcul pour la conception detaill~e de serpentins ailetds. Ce
programme s'intdresse surtout aux ~l~mens des tubes des dchangeurs de chaleur pour lesquels
les ~quations directrices sont r~solues en utilisant des valeurs locales de temperature, pression,
des propri~t~s physiques et des coefficients de transfert de chaleur. Les cas du fluide
monophasique, du condenseur et de l~vaporateur peuvent ~tre trait~s automatiquement en
utilisant de l'eau, du R22, du R134a et des m~lange de frigorig~nes h base de R32, de R125 et
de R134a. Le logiciel pent traiter des circuits de serpentines non classiques avec plusieurs
bouches d'aspiration et de refoulement, une distribution de Fair non uniforme it l'aspiration
due serpentin, utilisant des ailettes lisses, onduldes et it persiennes, et des tubes lisses et it
ailettes internes. Le programme a dt$ valid~ avec 7 serpentins ailet~s utilisant des fluides purs,
avec et sans condensation sur les ailettes. Des comparaisons avec des essais montrent des
erreurs inf~rieures it 5% pour le serpentin et ses possibilit~s, et de l"ordre de 30% pour la chute
de pression du frigorigbne. On pr~sente une simulation de la performance d'un serpentin
utilisant du R22 et un m~lange ternaire, pour valider les algorithmes du programme mis au
point pour les m~langes. 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd and IIR
(Mots cl~s: transfert de chaleur; echangeur de chalenr; tube ailet6; batterie; simulation; coefficient
d'6~hange thermique; perte de pression; calcul)

*To whom all correspondenceshould be addressed

218
 A. Bensafi et al. 219

Nomenclature
A Area Greek
a Constant for 'j' factor
Fin angle
Bo Bond number
A Change in quantity
Cp Heat capacity
e Void fraction
D Tube diameter
ATLM Log mean temperature difference
dt Temperature difference
# Dynamic viscosity
e Thickness
p Density
f Friction factor
7 Groove helix angle
F Heat transfer enhancement factor
v Kinematic viscosity
Fc Correction factor for cross-flow
r/ Surface effectiveness, fin efficiency
Fr Froude number
a Surface tension
g Gravity acceleration
Two-phase multiplier
G Mass flux
H Enthalpy
h Local heat transfer coefficient Subscripts
j Factor for air HTC calculation
a Air
(L/D)oa Equivalent length of tubing acc Acceleration
k, K Thermal conductivity
avg Average
Kres Lumped fin resistances factor
bt Bare (outside) tube
L Tube length
fin Fin
M Mass flow rate
fri Friction
n Constant for ~]' factor
i Element i, inside
Nu Nusselt number
in Inlet
number of grooves per tube
int Internal
P Pressure
sat Saturated, at saturation
Pr Prandtl number
bend Refers to 180 return bend
Q Heat transferred
L,I, liq Liquid
Re Reynolds number
lo Liquid only
P~er Fin efficiency resistance factor
m Mixture
t Fin thickness
out Outlet
T Temperature
r Refrigerant
U Overall heat transfer coefficient
res Resistances
x Vapour quality
t Tube
Xer Dry-out quality
o Outside
Xtt Lockhart-Martinelli pressure drop
tp Two-phase
parameter
tt Turbulent-turbulent
v, vap Vapour
vo Vapour only
w Wall

Introduction there has recently been an increasing interest in

Finned tube heat exchangers are most often used in
air conditioning and heat pumping. Compared to
other system components, these heat exchangers are
more complicated to model, due to the complexity of
the two-phase flow involved and the heat exchange
process between the air stream and the refrigerant,
and the flow configuration. On a tube-by-tube basis,
strict cross-flow exists locally. However, because of
constraints as well as for heat transfer efficiency,
manufacturers often adopt various pipe circuiting
methods. This diversity further complicates the flow
configuration and classification.
Moreover, and due to new worldwide regulations
on the use of chlorine-containing working fluids,
new, environmentally benign refrigerants. Proposed
alternative substances for R22 include zeotropic
refrigerant mixtures (ZRMs), with R407C being
proposed as the best candidate for the medium
term. In terms of thermodynamic behaviour, there
are two basic differences between a pure fluid
and ZRMs, which manifest themselves at phase
change:
mixtures undergo phase change with a 'gliding'
temperature;
vapour and liquid compositions are different for a
two-phase mixture, and will continuously change
throughout the heat transfer process, which influ-
ences the properties of the two phases.
220 CYRANO: a computational model

These phenomena introduce further complexity to the / / /

/ / /
design of evaporators and condensers using ZRMs. In / / / j.'~
the present work, we introduce the first validation f J J"Tf
results for CYRANO, a software developed to design 0 0 0 / /
evaporators and condensers that can handle a variety
of pure fluids, including water and steam. Complex
Air Air
circuitry and non-uniform air distribution can also be i,~t ooo --~ outlet
taken into account. Finally, we introduce its modi-
fications to handle wide boiling zeotropic mixtures.
0 0 ~'/ /
/

oo o.../ / f
Existing models Io o /
Many design models have been presented in the open
literature. Whether they are intended for the simula-
Refrigerant Refrigerant
tion of condensers or evaporators, they generally fall n
outlet inlet
into two broad categories: zone-based and detailed
models. Figure 1 Coil discretisation
The zone-based models divide the coil into several Figure 1 Schima du serpentin
parts, depending on the number of phases that the
refrigerant exhibits throughout the heat transfer
process (vapour, liquid and two-phase). Each zone Air flow fins
is then treated as a separate heat exchanger. One such
model is CANUT 1, which is based on the NTU
(number of transfer units) method. However, and
~ T a,in,i /
because of their oversimplifying assumptions and
approach, the use of these models is limited to
classical configurations and simple coil circuiting. In
IILIILIILIII[II
coils where moisture condensation occurs, their
refrigerant_
TLi ) Tubeelementi ]
T,i+l
results can sometimes be deceptive.
Detailed models are more rigorous because they
divide the whole heat exchanger into tubes or even
parts of tubes with their associated fins, where local
IILIIII]III[I]I
properties are used. /T a,out,i
For each tube, or part of tube considered, the
thermal and fluid flow performance are computed Figure 2 Discretisation of tubes into elements
using local values of temperature, pressure, properties
Figure 2 Ddcomposition des tubes en dldments
and heat transfer coefficients (HTCs). Ellison et al. 2,
Domanski and Didion 3, Huang and Pate 4, Oskarsson
et al. 5'6 and Domanski 7 presented various models. A zone-based model I is presently used at
None of their programmes could handle mixtures. CETIAT for coil simulation and design. However,
Haselden et al. s presented a detailed simulation because it heavily relies on experiments and can
programme for both evaporator and condenser only treat symmetrical circuits, it was desirable to
design. The model could treat parallel symmetrical develop a detailed model to conduct simulations of
configurations with intermediate joining or branching evaporators and condensers with better accuracy,
in individual circuits, and could handle refrigerant using either user-supplied or literature correlations.
mixtures. Horizontal and vertical flow orientation Desirable features of this computational tool are the
could be treated. Air velocity and temperature ability to handle mixtures, non-uniform air tem-
distribution at the coil inlet face was assumed to be perature and velocity distributions at the coil inlet
uniform, with the air HTC value being supplied as face and complex circuitries. CYRANO is currently
an input parameter. By performing tests with a being developed to that effect.
R22/R142b binary mixture in circuited vertical coils
using louvered fins and internally finned tubes,
Haselden et al. s derived heat transfer coefficient ComputationalApproach
enhancement factors and subsequently designed The design procedures for both evaporator and
novel heat exchangers for air conditioning duties 9. condenser are very similar. Consequently, both
However, the number of possible design configura- models have been included into a single computer
tions was limited and manual iterations were neces- programme. Circuitry is user-defined through an
sary. Further work was also required to handle input file, which must also contain all coil geome-
properly the effects of condensation of moisture on trical data and parameters for air HTC, if any are
the fins. available.
 A. Bensafi et al.
Main assumptions
The following assumptions were made:
(1) no heat losses to the environment;
(2) at every point along the tubes, refrigerant vapour
and liquid are perfectly mixed and in equilibrium.
Turbulent annular two-phase flow, together with
the contribution of the return bends to good
mixing, make this assumption a reasonable one;
(3) air is uniformly distributed across the fins, unless
otherwise specified;
(4) the refrigerant flow in the return bends is
adiabatic;
(5) the refrigerant HTC is calculated at each step and
used as a local value;
(6) air HTC is constant throughout a row of tubes, or
the whole coil if desired;
(7) the effect of air humidity is taken into account,
assuming a unity Lewis number ~.
Discretisation
Figure 1 shows a view of the coil discretisation into
tubes and elements with their associated fins. Starting
at the air inlet face, index n represents row number.
Index j represents tube number on any considered
row, while i is the element number on that tube. Thus,
each tube element will be identified by this triplet
(n, j, i). Figure 2 shows the division of tubes into
elements.
An additional (user-supplied) index will character-
ise the refrigerant flow direction (1 for forward and
- 1 for backward). Considering a coil with Nr rows,
Nt tubes per row and Ne elements per tube, the
discretisation procedure implies that there will be
three-dimensional matrices for air temperatures (dry
and dew point) and flow rates requiring dimensions
(Nr + 1, Nt, Ne) and for refrigerant temperatures,
pressures and vapour qualities requiring dimensions
(Nr, Nt, Ne + 1).
Mathematical model of tube elements
For any element i, one can write two rate equations, a
heat balance, and a pressure balance (see Nomencla-
ture for meaning of symbols). For the heat exchanged
between the air and the refrigerant:
haAAo(Twi - Tai) = naAHai (I)
hrm.4i(Tri - Twi ) = MrAHri (2)
therefore,
hrAAi(Tri- T~) = haAAo(Twi - Tai) (3)
Eliminating the wall temperature from Equations (1)
and (2) and using finite differences yields:
AQi = FcA TLMiUiAA i (4)
221
where Ui is the overall HTC, and
At I - At 2
ATLMi ln(At,'~ (5)
\Ate/
with
Atl = Tr, i+l - Ta, in, i (7)
and
At2 = Tr, i- Ta, out, i (8)
and where F is a correction factor to account for the
effect of cross-flow (it is essentially unity for a phase-
changing refrigerant, but can deviate from unity in the
single-phase region). The mean temperature differ-
ence for heat transfer in element i is ATLMi. The
above equations assume that ha, the air HTC, includes
all the thermal resistances, i.e. the wall, fins, contact
and air resistances and takes into account the fin
efficiency. When moisture condensation occurs, the
heat transfer rate (as expressed by Equation (4)) will
be based on 'enthalpic transfer', following the method
outlined by Threlkeld 1. See later the discussion on
the overall HTC for both dry and wet finned surfaces.
The heat transfer rate can also be obtained from
partial energy balances:
refrigerant:
MrAHri = A a i (9)
air:
MaAHai = AQi (10)
The step-by-step calculations are summarised as
follows.
Computational procedure
CYRANO requires data about the coil geometry and
circuitry, and the specified operating parameters for
which simulation is to be carried out. Inlet operating
data required to start the calculations are refrigerant
mass flow rate, temperature, pressure and quality,
and air temperature, humidity (expressed as water
dew point), flow rate and pressure.
Computation algorithm
All the necessary geometrical parameters are first
calculated. The three-dimensional matrices of tem-
perature, vapour quality, and pressure are initialised
depending on the fluid being used and the detected
calculation case (condenser or evaporator). By start-
ing at the inlet tube, the programme tracks the
refrigerant until outlet. Depending on the vapour
quality, single-phase or two-phase routines will be
called. The outlet air and refrigerant temperatures
and vapour qualities are determined and used to
update the matrices. All parallel circuits are treated in
222 CYRANO: a computational model
this manner from inlet to exit. The calculations
scheme is then repeated in a second loop, starting at
the air inlet face, and independently of the refrigerant
flow direction. These two successive loops continu-
ously update the matrices of temperatures, pressure,
vapour quality and air humidity. By comparing
successive values of these parameters, residuals are
calculated. Convergence is obtained when these
residuals reach pre-specified tolerances, which are
set to 0.005 K for temperatures and 0.001 for vapour
quality.
Upon convergence, the programme yields the total
heat duty, the refrigerant outlet temperature, pressure
and vapour quality (averaged, if more than one
circuit), and the air outlet temperature and humidity.
For coils with multiple circuits, the refrigerant flows
in the different branches are recalculated to result in
individual circuit pressure drops that compare with
the average pressure drop value, within a specified
tolerance.
Heat transfer and pressure drop correlations
Pressure drop correlations
For horizontal flow, and neglecting gravitational
effects, the total pressure drop occurring in any
element is the sum of acceleration and frictional
terms.
The acceleration component accounts for the
pressure recovery or loss due to the change in
momentum. Its calculation requires the void fraction,
which is estimated from Smith's equation as cited by
Koyama et alJ I. For single-phase flow, the friction
factor is first determined depending on the magnitude
of the Reynolds number. For Re < 2300, the Poi-
seuille correlation is used. For Re > 10,000, the
Blasius correlation is used. For two-phase flow, the
frictional component was calculated as a function of
the Lockhart-Martinelli pressure drop parameter Xtt
given by:
= ( 1 - - X ~ 0"9 (pv~ 0"5 (~1~0.1
Xtt \~---/ \~/ \g/ (11)
When the vapour mass fraction is below 75%, the
pressure drop is calculated from the MartineUi and
Nelson correlation as cited by Jung et al. 12 as:
(APi'fri)tP = (tp) 2 (12)
(APi, fri)l
with
(~tp) 2 = 12.82Xttl'47(l - x) l's (13)
where the subscripts tp and I refer to two-phase and
liquid, respectively.
The two-phase multiplier (~I,tp)2 is calculated at four
intervals in each element; then, the two-phase
frictional pressure drop (Aei, fri)tp as recommended
by Jung et al. 12 is computed from:
2fG 2ALi xl+l 2
(aei, fri)tp = - - [ (~tp) dX (14)
DplAx Jx,
When the vapour quality is greater than 75%, the
two-phase frictional pressure drop is calculated from:
(Aei, fri)tp --~ (@vo)2 (l 5)
(APi, fri)vo
where the subscripts tp and vo refer to two-phase and
vapour only, respectively. The two-phase multiplier
was calculated as recommended by Solimant3:
(ibvo)2 = 1 + 2.82X'525 (16)
Once the tube frictional component of the pressure
drop is calculated, the corresponding return bend
pressure drop is computed with an equivalent (L/D)~q
ratio taken as 50, following current engineering
practice 14.
Refrigerant heat transfer correlations
Single phase. For Re < 2300, the Hausen correlation
for laminar flow, as cited in Shah and London Is, is
used. For the transition case, where 2300_< Re_<
10,000, the single phase Nusselt number, Nu, is eval-
uated from the Gnielinski 16 semiempirical correla-
tion. For the fully-developed turbulent flow, i.e.,
when Re > 10,000, the Petukhov correlation 17 is
used: both the Gnielinski and the Petukhov correla-
tions are corrected for the effect of tube length.
Condensation. Following the recommendations of
Nitheanandan et alJ s, a set of correlations has been
used to account for the effects of the flow regime.
Correlations from Akers and Rosson 19, Soliman 2,
and Shah 21 are used for wavy, mist and annular flows,
respectively.
Evaporation. Jung and Radermacher 22"23 reported
numerous experiments with evaporating refrigerants.
Their correlation is used from low vapour qualities up
to 90%. There is a transition region, As the refriger-
ant evaporates, its vapour mass fraction increases,
and so does the accompanying HTC. However,
towards the end of the evaporation process, it reaches
a region where the liquid film on the tube walls dis-
appears. This phenomnon is called 'dry-out', and
induces a sharp decrease in the HTC. An extensive
literature survey was conducted by one of the authors
(Bensafi24). The results showed very conflicting pre-
dictions, with the transition quality ranging from
0.75 to 0.98, depending on the prevailing mass and
heat fluxes.
Since the Jung and Radermacber correlation has
been validated for qualities ranging from 20 to 90%
for a wide range of conditions and refrigerants, a fixed
transition quality of 90% was adopted. Beyond this
 A. Bensafi et al. 223

vapour quality, the HTC is calculated by a linear water and air. Simulations using these derived
interpolation between the vapour phase and the coefficients will yield very accurate results.
transition quality HTCs:
h r = 10[(1 - x)h0. 9 + (x - 0.9)hvap] (17)
Webb correlation. The correlation proposed by Gray
and W e b b 26 for smooth fins can be used in the
absence of data from which to calculate air HTCs.
Enhancement factors for micro-finned tubes. In order Local values of the air HTC are calculated following
to take into account the effect of enhanced tubes on the method outlined by Domanski 7 to account for the
the refrigerant HTC, constant enhancement factors effect of the row number. Enhancement factors of
can be entered as input parameters, or can be calcu- 1.45 and 2.0 are taken for wavy and louvered fins,
lated. For evaporation and single-phase flow, the respectively.
enhancement factor is calculated from the inside
surface area augmentation factor due to the presence
Overall H T C for dry conditions
of the grooves (from their height, number, apex
and helix angles). For condensation, the enhance- Neglecting fouling and fin-contact resistances, the
ment factors are calculated as suggested in Cavallini overall HTC based on the total outside heat transfer
et aL25: surface is then:
2 -0.26 ( 1 1 etube ~-1 (23)
he, finned = he, smnothRx (BoFr) (18)
U = "hrAint/A l- ~sha ~ ktube'-~--m/Ai ]
with
where the surface effectiveness is expressed as:
2
IBo ~
glTrptd
- -
Fr = vv
Ab, t/Anns + ~ (24)
8ngO" ' g-d '
~s = Ab, t/Ann s + 1
~[2nsl(l - sin(7/2)) ] }
where Aint is tube internal area, Af.s is the fin's surface
nx [ lrd cos(7/2) Jr 1
area, Ao is the total heat transfer area, Ab,t is the bare
= (18, 19 and 20)
cos(3) tube area, Am is the mean tube surface area
(logarithmic average of tube inside and outside
where hc,sr,ooth is the condensation HTC calculated
surface areas) and r/ is the fin efficiency, ktu~ and
for a smooth tube, I is the fin height, d is the inside
etu~ represent tube thermal conductivity and thick-
diameter, ng is the number of grooves per tube, 7 is the
ness, respectively. Fin efficiency is calculated by
helix angle, ~ is the fin angle and ~r is the refrigerant
surface tension. The Froude number Fr is calculated approximating the rectangular fin area associated
with a tube element to an equivalent circular area, as
on the basis of the vapour flowing alone. The R x factor
suggested by Rich 27.
accounts for the heat transfer surface area increase due
to the grooves, and the Bond number Bo for the effect
of liquid surface tension. Air side H T C for wet surfaces
When the average fin surface temperature is calculated
Air side under dry conditions to be less than the water dew point of the air stream at

The convective HTC for the air side may be calculated

in terms of the 'j-factor' as follows:
jGa maxCp M
hair,dry : ,
pr2/3 (21)

where Ga,max is the air mass flux calculated at the

minimum flow area. The j-factor depends on the coil
under consideration and, despite attempts by many
researchers, it is still difficult to find a universal form
that yields consistent and accurate results. This is due
to the diversity of fins (flat, wavy, louvered, etc.), the
manufacturing techniques, and the large combination
of coil geometries.
T (0!
S
_ ~
bubble I

Liquid phase

y z x
User-defined correlation. Air side HTCs can be calcu- A pure B pure
lated using the following j-factor form: 0 ComponentB molefraction 1
j = a Re n (22) Figure 3 Temperature-concentration diagram for a binary
mixture
where a and n are user defined. For many coils, these Figure 3 Diagramme terap~rature-concentration pour un
coefficients have been derived from experiments with mdlange binaire
224 CYRANO: a computational model
the outlet of any tube element, moisture condensation
will occur. Under these conditions, the air HTC can no
longer be calculated as outlined previously, and a water
mass balance must be carried out.
A review of the literature revealed that the enthalpic
method, proposed by Threlkeld 1, was most adequate
for application with the detailed model. In this
procedure, the driving force for heat transfer is
assumed to be the difference between the saturated
enthalpy of the air flowing over the fins and a fictitious
saturated air enthalpy evaluated at the refrigerant
temperature. Consequently, HTCs are transformed to
be based on 'enthalpic transfer' in order to take into
account the transfer of mass from the air stream to the
fins when condensation occurs.
Refrigerantmixteres
Thermodynamic behaviour
When a refrigerant mixture undergoes phase change,
its temperature varies and the composition of the
liquid and vapour phases are different. Figure 3 shows
a temperature-concentration diagram for a binary
mixture of components A and B. Consider a mixture
at the inlet of an evaporator, say at point E on
Figure 3. As it evaporates, the vapour quality
increases and the mixture reaches point C. There,
the saturated vapour and liquid phases will be
represented by points V and L, respectively, and the
corresponding compositions of component B will be
y and x, respectively. As the mixture is further
vaporised, it reaches its dew point at P, where only
a vapour phase exists. If it is further superheated, it
will reach state M, totally in the vapour phase. As this
diagram shows, the mixture composition in the two
phases continuously changes from inlet to outlet--
and so do the corresponding thermodynamic and
transport properties. For mixtures with a small
difference between dew point and bubble point,
the so-called 'temperature glide', the composition
difference between vapour and liquid will not be
so important. But with larger glides, they must be
taken into account.
The heat transfer process to mixtures therefore
introduces more complexity to the computation
procedure. The detailed design model which was
introduced previously must be modified to account
for the different thermodynamic refrigerant behav-
iour. It is beyond the scope of this work to show in
detail all the required modifications to be brought to
the procedures shown previously, hence only some of
them will be explained.
Adaptation of the detailed design model to Z R M s
The main changes to the calculation procedure
involve the following:
refrigerant property calculations;
) Vapour
(yl, y2, y3)
Two-phase mixture
Composition
(zl, ~ , ~ )
Liquid
x (xl , x2, x3)
1
Figure 4 Representation of a tube element as a non-
adiabatic separator
Figure 4 Representation d'un dl$ment du tube comme
s~parateur non adiabatique
initialisation of the refrigerant and air temperature
profiles;
calculation of temperature and vapour quality at
the exit of each tube element in the two-phase
region;
condensing and evaporating refrigerant HTCs.
Refrigerant property calculations. A specific pro-
gramme 2s was written to calculate thermodynamic
and transport properties of ternary and binary mix-
tures based on R32, R125 and R134a. It is based on
a cubic equation of state and uses refrigerant manu-
facturers data for the transport properties. It was
then integrated to CYRANO.
Initialisation of temperature profiles. Depending on
whether it is condensing or evaporating, the refriger-
ant reference temperature for initialisation will be
equal to the dew point temperature at input pressure
(condenser), or to the entering temperature (evapora-
tor). This reference temperature is used as a basis to
initialise the refrigerant and air temperatures.
Temperature and vapour quality at exit of tube ele-
ments in the two-phase region. This procedure is prob-
ably the most complex to adapt to mixtures. Each
heat exchanger element is treated as a non-adiabatic
separator, as shown in Figure 4.
First, an equilibrium calculation is made to
determine the liquid and vapour phase composition.
These compositions will in turn be used to calculate
transport properties for each phase. Pressure drops
are then calculated, using the correlations for pure
components and the mixture properties. Refrigerant
and air HTCs yield heat transfer rates, which are used
in partial air and refrigerant energy balances to
calculate enthalpies at exit of tube elements.
For ZRMs, the exit temperature is no longer the
'saturation temperature' at the exit pressure as was
the case for pure components, but is uniquely given by
the computed exit enthalpy and pressure, through an
equilibrium calculation, which also yields exit vapour
quality.
 A. Bensafi et al. 225

Table 1 Characteristics of the coils used in the experiments

Table 1 Caract&istiques des serpentins utilisis dans les exp&iences
Coil characteristic 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Fluid R22 R 134a R22 R22 R22 R22 R22
Mode evap. cond. cond. cond. cond. cond. cond.
Tube length (mm) 600 538 980 980 980 980 980
Number of rows 2 2 4 4 4 4 4
Tubes per row 15 24 22 22 22 28 28
Circuiting cross-flow cross-flow counter-flow counter-flow counter-flow counter-flow counter-flow
Tubes smooth smooth smooth grooved grooved smooth smooth
Fins louvered Iouvered wavy wavy wavy wavy louvered
Tranverse pitch (ram) 25 18.4 35 35 35 32 32
Longitudinal pitch (ram) 21.6 11.5 40 40 40 27.5 27.5
Tube internal diameter (mm) 9.38 6.5 12.4 12.24 12.24 12.46 12.46
Tube thickness (mm) 0.35 0.25 0.48 0.6 0.6 0.37 0.37
Fin thickness (mm) 0.11 0.1 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12
Fin pitch (ram) 1.80 1.3 2.25 2.22 2.23 2.17 2.11
a/n air parameters (for j ) 0.817/0.506 3.93/0.760none none none none none
Number of runs 15 17 8 10 8 10 10
Average error (%) 3.2 2.8 1.1 3.4 4 1 0.6

40

3O S Coil N I

J
Coil N2
Coil N 3

/
A
2o v
Coil N 4

Coil N 5
~o
/ Coil N6

Coil N 7

0 10 20 30 40
Measured duty (kW)

Figure 5 Comparison of calculated and experimental coil duties

Figure 5 Comparaison de possibilitds des serpentins, calculdes et expdrimentales

Condensing and evaporating HTCs. Numerous reports
on condensation and evaporation have shown
marked differences between pure fluids and ZRMs,
which depend on the nature of the fluids, as well as
on operating conditions, such as mass and heat fluxes.
Lower HTCs are generally obtained with mixtures,
due to the effects of mass transfer resistance, and
sometimes to differing mixture properties.
Local condensing coefficients for ZRMs are first
calculated from pure component correlations based
on mixture transport properties. Then, and following
the recommendations of Gayet e t al. 29 and Cavallini
et al. 2s, the local HTCs for ZRMs are calculated using
the method developed by Bell and Ghaly3 to account
for the effects of mass transfer resistance. The
condensing heat transfer coefficient hm for the mixture
is expressed as:
1 1 -I ATCpvap
hm he AQhvap
where he is the condensing HTC for the mixture
calculated for a pure component considering the
properties of the mixture, hvap is the vapour phase
HTC with the vapour flowing alone, A T is the
temperature difference between inlet and outlet of the
tube element, Cpvap is the vapour heat capacity and
AQ is the heat transferred in the tube element.
A similar method is adopted for evaporating
coefficients, where a correlation for pure components
is first used with mixture transport properties. A
corrected HTC is then calculated following the
method outlined by Bivens and Yokozeki 31.
Programme validation
The model verification consisted of comparing the
simulation results with test data from the CETIAT
Laboratory for several coils. Experiments were
performed under severely controlled conditions in a
psychometric room. Duties were calculated from
(25) energy balances on both the refrigerant and the air
streams, and balances checked within + 2%.
Table 1 shows all the characteristics of the coils
used in the experiments. There were no means of
226 CYRANO: a computational model

0.6

o, Coil No1
0
Coil N3
o .4 /
Coil N 4

Coil N5

"5 Coil N 6
o

1.1 x Coil N7

o
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
Measured pressure drop (bar)

F~-e 6 Comparison o f calculated and experimental fluid pressure drop for tested coils
Figure 6 Comparaison de la chute de pression du fluide, calcul~e et exp~rimentale, pour des serpentins testds

5500

5ooo ~
R22 evap.

:- R407C avap.
> 4000
" R22 cond.
3500 R407C cond.

,ooo

2500
55 65 75 85 95 105
Refrigerant flow rate (kg/h)

Figure 7 Performance simulation of coil 1 using R22 and R407C

Figure 7 Simulation de la performance du serpentin 1 utilisant du R22 et du R407C

determining the air distribution upstream of the coil. Table 2 Inlet conditions for coil 1 performance simulation
Consequently, it was assumed to be uniform in all the using R22 and R407C
simulations. Heat transfer duty test data were Table 2 Conditions d'aspiration pour la simulation de la
reported for air under dry conditions and water performance du serpentin 1 utilisant du R22 et du R407C
flowing inside the tubes for coils 1 and 2, which Case Condensation Evaporation
provided coefficients a and n for the air HTC. Then
experiments were run for evaporating R22 on coil 1 Air inlettemperature(C) 30 20
Air inletwater dew point temperature 5
with and without water condensation on the fins. 5
Experiments conducted with coil 2 used condensing Air velocity(ms-l) 2.5 1.9
R134a. Coils 3-7 used condensing R22. Refrigerantflowrate (kgh-1) 60-100 60-100
Superheat at condenserinlet(C) 35
Temperatureat saturation(C) 50* 5'f
Inletvapourquality 0.2
Comparison o f simulation with experimental results
* Average value of bubble and dew point temperatures at
The comparison was made between simulated and inlet pressure for R407C.
experimental refrigerant duties and pressure drops. t Average value of inlet and dew point temperatures at fluid
Figures 5 and 6 show plots of the calculated versus the
experimental heat duties and pressure drops. The
pressure drops are well simulated, with errors around uncertainties. It is noteworthy that all calculated
30%. If pressure drops were compared on an absolute pressure drops for coils 4 and 5 are underpredicted
basis, the difference between simulation and experi- by about 30%. This can be explained by the fact that
ments would be of the order of the experimental both coils are equipped with internally grooved tubes.
 A. Bensafi et al.
The comparison between calculated and experi-
mental heat duties shows that the model predicts
accurate results with the user-defined correlation,
both with dry and wet surfaces. It is noteworthy that
the a and n air HTC parameters were derived solely
from dry surface data with water. Duties are predicted
within around 5% for all coils. For wet surface
conditions the model predicts the duties within 1%
for coil 1, which proves that the enthalpic method is
adequate for detailed calculations.
Programme validation for coils using Z R M s
It has not been possible to find experimental work
with detailed data on coils using ZRMs. In order to
check the developed algorithms, a few simulation
cases were run. All cases were based on R22 and
R407C using coil 1. Table 2 shows the inlet operating
conditions used for the simulations.
The simulation results are shown in Figure 7.
Larger duties are obtained for R407C, under the inlet
conditions assumed to illustrate the calculation. In
practice, the results may be different because of other
interacting cycle components (compressor, expansion
valve, etc.). Nevertheless, it noteworthy to mention
that the results are very similar to those obtained by
Ebisu and Torikoshi 32, who performed experiments
with both fluids.
Conclusions
A detailed model for the design of plate-fin-and-tube
heat exchangers has been developed. The computa-
tional approach discretises the heat exchanger into tube
elements. Local values of properties and heat transfer
coefficients are used. Three-dimensional matrices of
refrigerant and air temperatures and pressures are
generated. The model makes use of a double-loop
iterative scheme which reduces computational time.
Pressure drops are predicted with errors of the
order of 30%. Heat transfer rates are predicted with
high accuracy, with discrepancies of less than 3 % with
user-supplied air HTC parameters, and of the order of
5% if these parameters are not available.
The model can be used to select among alternatives
at the design stage. With a few available air heat
transfer data, it can be used with confidence to build
up a coil thermal performance catalogue, under dry
and wet surface conditions.
The programme algorithm for the use of mixtures
was checked and yielded consistent results. Unfor-
tunately, there were no detailed experimental data
with ZRMs to check the programme results. As these
data become available, a validation of the programme
will be carried out.
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