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The influence of oil on nucleate pool boiling heat transfer

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Abstract

The influence of various oil contents in R134a is investigated for nucleate pool boiling on copper tubes either sandblasted or with enhanced heating surfaces (GEWA-B tube). Polyolester oils (POE) (Reniso Triton) with medium viscosity 55 cSt (SE55) and high viscosity 170 cSt (SE170) were used. Heat transfer coefficients were obtained for boiling temperatures between −28.6 and +20.1°C. The oil content varied from 0 to 5% mass fraction. For the sandblasted tube and the SE55 oil the heat transfer coefficients for the refrigerant/oil-mixture can be higher or lower than those for the pure refrigerant, depending on oil mass fraction, boiling temperature and heat flux. In some cases the highest heat transfer coefficients were obtained at a mass fraction of 3%. For the 170 cSt oil there is a clear decrease in heat transfer for all variations except for a heat flux 4,000 W/m2 and −10.1°C at 0.5% oil content. The heat transfer coefficients are compared to those in the literature for a smooth stainless steel tube and a platinum wire. For the enhanced tube and 55 cSt oil the heat transfer coefficients are clearly below those for pure refrigerant in all cases. The experimental results for the sandblasted tube are compared with the correlation by Jensen and Jackman. The calculated values are within +20 and −40% for the medium viscosity oil and between +50% and −40% for the high viscosity oil. A correlation for predicting oil-degradation effects on enhanced surfaces does not exist.

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Abbreviations

α :

heat transfer coefficient (W/m² K)

α mix :

heat transfer coeff. of refrigerant-oil mixture (W/m2 K)

α ref :

heat transfer coefficient of pure refrigerant (W/m2 K)

q :

heat flux (W/m²)

p :

saturation pressure (bar)

p cr :

critical pressure (bar)

p*:

reduced pressure p/pcr (−)

w :

oil mass fraction (%, −)

w eff :

effective oil mass fraction near the tube (%, −)

ϑ s :

boiling temperature (°C)

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft (BMWi), Germany through the Arbeitsgemeinschaft industrieller Forschungsvereinigungen (AiF), Germany. The project was accompanied by a work group of the Forschungsrat Kältetechnik e.V., Frankfurt a.M., Germany.

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  1. Institut für Thermodynamik und Wärmetechnik, Universität Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 6, 70550 , Stuttgart, Germany

    Klaus Spindler & Erich Hahne

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  1. Klaus Spindler
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  2. Erich Hahne
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Correspondence to Klaus Spindler.

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Spindler, K., Hahne, E. The influence of oil on nucleate pool boiling heat transfer. Heat Mass Transfer 45, 979–990 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-007-0321-0

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