A General Correlation for Condensation Heat Transfer in Micro-fin for Herringbone and Dimple-Texture Tubes

An experimental investigation was performed to evaluate the condensation characteristics inside smooth, herringbone and dimple-textured (Vipertex 1EHT) tubes; with the same outer diameter (12.7 mm); using R22 and R410a refrigerants; for a mass flux that ranges from 81 to 178.5 kg/m(2) s. The condensation saturation temperature is 47 degrees C; with an inlet quality of 0.8 and an outlet vapor quality of 0.2. Results indicate that the condensation heat transfer coefficient of the herringbone tube was approximately 3 times that of the smooth tube for R22; and has an enhancement heat transfer factor of 2.3 for R410a. The enhancement heat transfer coefficient multiplier for the textured dimple tube is approximately 2 times that of a smooth tube for R22; and 1.8 for R410a. Severalpreviously reported correlations are used to compare the heat transfer coefficient measurements in the plain tube; while a new equation is proposed to predict the heat transfer coefficient in the herringbone tube.