Performance Prediction of a Laminate Evaporator with Hydrocarbon Refrigerants as the Working fluids

Performance of a laminate (plate type) evaporator is simulated by using hydrocarbons as the alternative refrigerants. The performance of the evaporator is simulated with Propane (R-290), Isobutane (R-600a), and 50/50 mixture (by weight) of Propane and Isobutane. The performance is compared to a system with R-134a as the working fluid. For a given cooling capacity, the refrigerant mass flow rates for hydrocarbon refrigerants are significantly lower than R-134a. However, the heat transfer coefficients are comparable in magnitudes to the base case (R-134a) which results in heat transfer rates that are very close to that of the base case. Hence, the simulated rate of heat transfer for hydrocarbon refrigerants is very close (within -3.5%) to that of R-134a system. From experiment's point of view the rate of heat transfer are same for all 4 refrigerants. The simulated thermal performance has been compared with the experimental test data obtained from the system bench. The simulated performance is within ±12% of the experimental data. Thermal and hydrodynamic performance data along with design considerations have been presented in this paper.