Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 1062–1071

www.elsevier.com/locate/apthermeng

Numerical simulation and experimental validation of coiled

adiabatic capillary tubes
O. Garcı́a-Valladares *

Centro de Investigación en Energı́a, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), Apdo. Postal 34, 62580 Temixco, Morelos, Mexico

Received 7 February 2006; accepted 12 July 2006

Available online 11 October 2006

Abstract

The objective of this study is to extend and validate the model developed and presented in previous works [O. Garcı́a-Valladares, C.D.
Pérez-Segarra, A. Oliva, Numerical simulation of capillary tube expansion devices behaviour with pure and mixed refrigerants consid-
ering metastable region. Part I: mathematical formulation and numerical model, Applied Thermal Engineering 22 (2) (2002) 173–182;
O. Garcı́a-Valladares, C.D. Pérez-Segarra, A. Oliva, Numerical simulation of capillary tube expansion devices behaviour with pure
and mixed refrigerants considering metastable region. Part II: experimental validation and parametric studies, Applied Thermal Engi-
neering 22 (4) (2002) 379–391] to coiled adiabatic capillary tube expansion devices working with pure and mixed refrigerants. The dis-
cretized governing equations are coupled using an implicit step by step method. A special treatment has been implemented in order to
consider transitions (subcooled liquid region, metastable liquid region, metastable two-phase region and equilibrium two-phase region).
All the flow variables (enthalpies, temperatures, pressures, vapor qualities, velocities, heat fluxes, etc.) together with the thermophysical
properties are evaluated at each point of the grid in which the domain is discretized. The numerical model allows analysis of aspects such
as geometry, type of fluid (pure substances and mixtures), critical or non-critical flow conditions, metastable regions, and transient
aspects. Comparison of the numerical simulation with a wide range of experimental data presented in the technical literature will be
shown in the present article in order to validate the model developed.
 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Metastable flow; Refrigeration; Coiled tube; Two-phase flow; Expansion devices; Separated flow model

1. Introduction applications, capillary tubes are coiled to save space and

A capillary tube is a fixed length of small diameter tub-
ing lying between the outlet of the condenser and the inlet
of the evaporator. It reduces the pressure of the refrigerant
from the high-pressure side to the low-pressure side of the
system and controls the flow of refrigerant to the evapora-
tor. Capillary tube expansion devices are widely used in
small refrigeration equipment such as household refrigera-
tors, freezers and air conditioners because its simplicity,
reliability and low cost. Despite its simplicity, the flow
inside a capillary tube is very complex. In some practical
*
Tel.: +52 55 562 29746; fax: +52 55 562 29791.
E-mail address: ogv@cie.unam.mx
the effect of the coiling affects the fluid flow inside them.
The capillary tube dimensions play an important role in
deciding its contribution to the refrigeration system perfor-
mance. For these reasons and in order to optimize the effi-
ciency of the coiled adiabatic capillary tubes, and therefore
the energy consumption, more general and accurate meth-
ods for predicting their thermal and fluid-dynamic behav-
ior are required.
Fig. 1 shows a typical pressure and saturated pressure
distributions of a refrigerant flowing through a capillary
tube, where the flow is divided into four regions: subcooled
region (zone I: when p P psat,l, xg = 0), metastable liquid
region (zone II: when psat,l > p P pv, xg = 0), metastable
two-phase region (zone III: when pv > p P psat,g, 0 < xg 6
xgequil, 0 6 y 6 1), and thermodynamic equilibrium

1359-4311/$ - see front matter  2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2006.07.034
 O. Garcı́a-Valladares / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 1062–1071 1063

Nomenclature

A cross-section area (m2) Dz axial discretization step (m)

cp specific heat at constant pressure (J kg1 K1) e roughness (m)
CV control volume eg void fraction
D diameter (m) / generic dependent variable
Dc coiled diameter (m) U two-phase frictional multiplier
D0 reference length l dynamic viscosity (kg m1 s1)
f friction factor h tube inclination angle (rad)
g acceleration due to gravity (m s2) l density (kg m3)
G mass velocity (kg m2 s1) r surface tension (N m1)
h enthalpy (J kg1) s shear stress (N m2)
k mesh concentration factor
K Boltzmann’s constant 1.380662 · 1023 Subscripts
1 1
(J K mol ) c critical
L length (m) con condenser
m mass (kg) equil thermodynamic equilibrium
m_ mass flow rate (kg s1) ev evaporator
n number of control volumes exp experimental
p pressure (Pa) g gas or vapor
pv pressure of vaporization
  (Pa) l liquid
Re Reynolds number GD l m superheated liquid
t time (s) num numerical
T temperature (K) sat saturation
v velocity (m s1) tp two-phase
xg vapor mass fraction z axial direction
y mass ratio of total saturated phase to total
phase Superscripts
z axial coordinate o previous instant
–  ¼ ð/ þ
arithmetical average over a CV: / i
Greek letters /iþ1 Þ=2
d rate of convergence  integral average over a CV: / ~ ¼ ð1=DzÞ
R zþDz
Dt temporal discretization step (s) / dz
z
DTsc degree of subcooling (K)

two-phase region (zone IV: when pv > p P psat,g, xgequil <
xg 6 1). At point a, the pressure is equal to the saturated
pressure but the vaporization does not take place. A meta-
stable (superheat) liquid flow occurs for a short distance
until the onset of vaporization. In this region the pressure
drop is almost linear. At point b, the vapor bubbles appear
and pressure suddenly drops due to the beginning of the
two-phase region. However, this is a metastable region
because of the existence of superheat liquid together with
saturated liquid and vapor fluid [1]. After point c, the local
thermodynamic equilibrium state is reached.
Kuehl and Goldschmidt [2] presented an experimental
study to determine the effects of coiling on capillary tubes;
the mass flow rate obtained for these authors is approxi-
mately 0–5% lower than that of a straight tube.
Wei et al. [3] examined the performance of capillary
tubes having R-407C and R22 as the working fluid. The
effect of coiling was quantitatively investigates and a corre-
lation was proposed to correlate their experimental data
and to describe the relation between straight and coiled
capillary tubes.
Wei et al. [4] studied the performance difference between
straight and coiled capillary tubes working with R22. The
results indicate that helical effect increased with decrease
of the diameter of coiling, and the effect of inlet conditions
is relatively small. A simple relation between the straight
and coiled capillary tubes based on their experimental data
is obtained.
Kim et al. [5] developed a dimensionless correlation on
the basis of experimental data of adiabatic capillary tubes
for R22, R407C and R410A. The results for straight capil-
lary tubes were compared with capillary tubes with coiled
diameters of 40, 120 and 200 mm.
Gorasia et al. [6] developed a numerical simulation on
coiled capillary tubes, they used Mori and Nakayama [7]
equation and Giri correlation for calculating liquid and
two-phase flow friction factor; metastable regions are
ignored.
1064 O. Garcı́a-Valladares / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 1062–1071
0 0.5 1 1.5
8 8
p
psat
7 7
I a II b III IV
Pressure [bar]
6 6
b’
c
5 5
4 I. Subcooled, single liquid phase
II. Metastable, single liquid phase
III. Metastable, liquid-vapor two-phase
IV. Thermodynamic equilibrium, liquid-vapor two-phase
3 3
0 0.5 1 1.5
Position [m]
Fig. 1. Typical pressure distribution along a capillary tube (dotted line:
saturated pressure).
Zhou and Zhang [8] carried out a numerical model
including metastable regions, considering homogeneous
two-phase flow and three methods are discussed to calcu-
late friction factors for coiled adiabatic capillary tubes.
The method chooses presents an average deviation of
±5% with their experimental data and Kim et al. [5] data
for R22.
The objective of this study is to extend and validate the
model by Garcı́a-Valladares et al. [9,10] and Garcı́a-
Valladares [11] to coiled adiabatic capillary tubes consider-
ing separated flow model and metastable regions. The
numerical solution has been performed by discretization
of the one-dimensional governing equations based on a
finite volume formulation. The entropy equation enables
detection of the limitation of the physical process produced
under critical flow conditions.
2. Mathematical formulation of two-phase flow inside tubes
The mathematical formulation of two-phase flow inside
a characteristic CV of a tube was developed in [9], in the
following sections only the more relevant aspects of this
formulation or those aspects not presented in previous
work are shown.
A characteristic CV is shown schematically in Fig. 2,
where ‘i’ and ‘i + 1’ represent the inlet and outlet sections
respectively. Taking into account the characteristic geome-
try of tubes (diameter, length, roughness and coiled diam-
eter), the governing equations have been integrated
assuming the following assumptions:
• One-dimensional flow: p(z, t), h(z, t), T(z, t), etc.
• Adiabatic flow.
4
Fig. 2. Schematic diagram of characteristic control volumes, inlet and
outlet sections are represented as ‘i’ and ‘i + 1’.
• Fluid: pure and mixed refrigerant (no oil is entrained).
• Axial heat conduction inside the fluid is neglected.
• Constant internal and coiled diameters and uniform
roughness surface.
The semi-integrated governing equations (continuity,
momentum, energy and entropy) over the above men-
tioned finite CV were presented in [9]. The one-dimen-
sional model requires the knowledge of the two-phase
flow structure, which is evaluated by means of the void
fraction eg. The evaluation of the shear stress is performed
by means of a friction factor f. This factor is defined from
the expression: s = U(f/4)(G2/2q), where U is the two-
phase factor multiplier. The coiled effects of a tube are
embodied in the calculation of friction factor. So, a
straight capillary tube model can also be applied to coiled
capillary tubes by changing the corresponding friction fac-
tor equations.
3. Evaluation of empirical coefficients
The mathematical model requires some additional local
information generally obtained from empirical correla-
tions. After comparing different empirical correlations pre-
sented in the technical literature, the following ones have
been selected:
3.1. Single-phase region (zone I)
The friction factor is evaluated from the following
expressions proposed by Zhou and Zhang [8] which is the
Mori and Nakayama [7] equation with different coefficients
considering the tube wall roughness
( )
0:5
C 1 ðD=Dc Þ C2
f ¼ 2:5 1=6
1þ 2:5 1=6
ð1Þ
½ReðD=Dc Þ  ½ReðD=Dc Þ 
 O. Garcı́a-Valladares / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 1062–1071 1065

where For each CV, a set of algebraic equations is obtained by

C 1 ¼ 1:88411177  10 1 1
þ 8:52472168  10 ðe=DÞ a discretization of the governing equations. The transient
2 3
terms of the governing equations are discretized using the
 4:63030629  10 ðe=DÞ þ 1:31570014  107 ðe=DÞ
4
following approximation: o//oT ffi (/  /o)/Dt, where /
C 2 ¼ 6:79778633  102 þ 2:53880380  101 ðe=DÞ represents a generic dependent variable (/ = h, p, T, q,
2 3 etc.); superscript ‘‘o’’ indicates the value of the previous
 1:06133140  104 ðe=DÞ þ 2:54555343  106 ðe=DÞ
instant. The averages of the different variables have been
The values obtained by Zhou and Zhang [8] for coefficients estimated by the arithmetic mean between their values at
the inlet and outlet sections, that is: / ~i ffi /
i 
C1 and C2 for different relative roughness have been in this
article integrated from a polynomial regression in order to ð/i þ /iþ1 Þ=2.
obtain continuous values between intervals. For e/D > Based on the numerical approaches indicated above, the
0.0014, C1 = 0.253 and C2 = 0.0897 are considered. governing equations can be discretized to obtain the value
of the dependent variables (mass flow rate, pressure and
enthalpy) at the outlet section of each CV.
3.2. Metastable liquid region (zone II)
The mass flow rate is obtained from the discretized con-
tinuity equation,
Metastable flow model presented by Chen et al. [12] has
been employed for predicting the pressure of vaporization ADz
m_ iþ1 ¼ m_ i  ð otp Þ
qtp  q ð3Þ
(pv). The friction factor is evaluated in the same way as Dt
for the single-phase region. where the two-phase density is obtained from: qtp =
egqg + (1  eg)ql.
3.3. Metastable two-phase region (zone III) In terms of the mass flow rate, gas and liquid velocities
are calculated as,
In this region, a model suggested by Feburie et al. [1] for " #  
the evaluation of the mass ratio of total saturated phase to _ g
mx _  xg Þ
mð1
vg ¼ ; vl ¼
total phase is used (Eq. (7)). Due to the lack of specific qg eg A ql ð1  eg ÞA
information, the friction factor is evaluated in the same
way as for equilibrium two-phase region. The discretized momentum equation is solved for the outlet
pressure,
3.4. Equilibrium two-phase region (zone IV) Dz f m _ 2
piþ1 ¼ pi  U pD þ q tp Ag sin h
A 4 2qtp A2
Considering a separated two-phase flow model (vg 5 vl), !
the void fraction is estimated from the semi-empirical equa- _ g vg þ ð1  xg Þvl Þiþ1
½mðx i
_  m
m _ o
tion of Premoli [13]. The friction factor is calculated from þ þ ð4Þ
Dz Dt
the same equation as in the case of the single-phase flow
considering the two-phase dynamic viscosity correlation where the subscript and superscript in the brackets indicate
iþ1
proposed by Dukler et al. [14] ½X i ¼ X iþ1  X i , i.e., the difference between the quantity
X at the outlet section and the inlet section.
xg ql lg þ ð1  xg Þqg ll From the energy equation and the continuity equation,
ltp ¼ ð2Þ
xg ql þ ð1  xg Þqg the following equation is obtained for the outlet enthalpy
considering adiabatic flow:
4. Numerical resolution am_ iþ1 þ bm_ i þ c ADz
Dt
hiþ1 ¼ otp ADz
q
ð5Þ
m_ iþ1 þ m_ i þ Dt
The main objective is the determination of the mass flow
rate through the coiled adiabatic capillary tube. Owing to where
the high gradients produced at the end of the capillary 2
a ¼ ðxg vg þ ð1  xg Þvl Þiþ1 þ g sin hDz  hi
tube, a non-uniform grid concentrated at the outlet section
is generated according to the expression given by Garcı́a- b ¼ ðxg vg þ ð1  xg Þvl Þ2i  g sin hDz þ hi
Valladares et al. [9]. o ðhi  2ho Þ  ð
c ¼ 2ðpi  po Þ  q qv2  q
2
ovo Þ
i tp i i i
The discretized equations have been coupled using a
fully implicit step by step method in the flow direction. In the zones with thermodynamic equilibrium: subcooled
From the known values at the inlet section, the variable liquid region and equilibrium two-phase region; temperature,
values at the outlet of each CV are iteratively obtained mass fraction and all the thermophysical properties are cal-
from the discretized governing equations (see next section). culated using matrices function of the pressure and enthal-
This solution (outlet values) is the inlet values for the next py obtained with REFPROP v7.0 [15].
CV. The procedure is carried out until the end of the coiled The above mentioned conservation equations of mass,
tube is reached. momentum and energy together with the thermophysical
1066 O. Garcı́a-Valladares / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 1062–1071
properties, are applicable to transient two-phase flow. Sit-
uations of steady flow and/or single-phase flow (liquid or
gas) are particular cases of this formulation. Moreover,
the mathematical formulation in terms of enthalpy gives
generality of the analysis (only one equation is needed for
all the regions) and allows dealing in easy form with cases
of refrigerant mixtures.
The metastable liquid region (zone II) begins when the
pressure drops down to the saturated condition and fin-
ishes at the onset of vaporization. The pressure of vapori-
zation (pv) at the point of flashing (point ‘‘b’’ in Fig. 1) is
evaluated by correlation proposed by Chen et al. [12]
pffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
ðpsat;l  pv Þ KT sat;l
r3=2"
#  0:208  3:18
ql DT sc D mentioned in introduction, the CV where transition occurs
¼ 0:679 Re0:914
ql  qg Tc D0
qffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffiffi
where D 0 is a reference length given by D0 ¼
KT sat;l
 104 .
r
In this region properties are estimated using the values
corresponding to liquid saturated conditions at the fluid
pressure. Temperature is estimated from the thermody-
namic relation dh = cp dT + (oh/op)T dp using the enthal-
pies obtained from the energy equation.
In the metastable two-phase region (zone III), Feburie
et al. [1] suggest that the flow can be separated into three
states: superheated liquid (subscript m), saturated liquid
(subscript l) and saturated vapor (subscript g). In this zone,
the governing equations are used to evaluate the mass flow
rate, the pressure and the mean enthalpy respectively.
A variable y, defined as mass ratio of total saturated
phase to total phase, y = (ml + mg)/(ml + mg + mm), is used
to evaluate the superheat liquid mass flow. This variable is
evaluated by correlation proposed by Feburie et al. [1]
  " #0:25
dy pD psat;l  p
¼ 0:02 ð1  yÞ
dz A pc  psat;l
The mean enthalpy (obtained from the energy equation) is
related to the individual enthalpies through their mass frac-
tions, that is

h ¼ x m hm þ x l hl þ x g hg
1   <d
¼ ð1  yÞhm þ y  xg hl þ xg hg
This expression allows the evaluation of the vapor mass
fraction (xg). Following Feburie et al. [1], the temperature
of the superheat liquid has been assumed constant in this
region.
When y approaches unity, the superheated liquid van-
ishes and the flow process enters to equilibrium two-phase
flow.
In metastable two-phase region, two temperatures
should be distinguished: the superheated liquid tempera-
ture (Tm) and the saturation liquid or gas temperature
(Tequil). For this reason, an averaged temperature has been
defined as
 
xg  xgequil
T ¼ T equil  ðT m  T equil Þ ð9Þ
xgequil
where xg is the actual vapor mass fraction which results
from the mean enthalpy equation and Tequil and xgequil
are the values obtained for the temperature and vapor mass
fraction if the fluid were in thermodynamic equilibrium.
Discharge shock wave. In the case of critical (choked)
flow, a CV of larger outlet diameter than inlet diameter is
defined at the discharge. Assuming null heat transfer and
accumulative terms, the outlet vapor quality is calculated
by means of the energy equation, the outlet pressure is
equal to the discharge pressure (pev), and the mass flow rate
remains constant.
Using the conditions of differentiation between regions
ð6Þ is detected. The CV is split into two control volumes.
The length of the first CV is calculated from the momen-
tum equation, imposing the pressure condition to differen-
tiate between one region and the other at the outlet section.
The length of the second one is calculated by simple differ-
ence. The transition criterion is very important because of
the significant changes in the friction factor between
regions. Depending on the empirical correlations used,
these coefficients can increase or decrease by factors of
ten or more. The importance of this criterion in obtaining
accurate results with fewer control volumes represents sig-
nificant important gains in computation cost [16].
In each CV, the values of the flow variables at the outlet
section of each CV are obtained by solving iteratively the
resulting set of algebraic equations (continuity, momen-
tum, energy, entropy and state equations mentioned above)
from the known values at the inlet section and the bound-
ary conditions. The solution procedure is carried out in this
manner, moving forward step by step in the flow direction.
At each cross-section, the shear stresses, and the void frac-
ð7Þ tions are evaluated using the empirical correlations
obtained from the available literature (see Section 3). The
transitory solution is iteratively performed at each time
step.
Convergence is verified at each CV using the following
condition:
   
/iþ1  /i 
ð10Þ
ð8Þ D/ 
where / refers to the dependent variables of mass flow rate,
pressure and enthalpy; and /* represents their values at the
previous iteration. The reference value D/ is locally evalu-
ated as /i+1  /i. When this value tends to be zero, D/ is
substituted by /i.
The numerical global algorithm is as follows: the inlet
mass flow rate is iteratively estimated by means of a numer-
ical Newton–Raphson method to obtain critical flux condi-
tions. Critical or choke flux conditions are reached when
entropy equation is not verified in the last CV. To check
critical conditions the criterion dp/dz ! 1 is sometimes
reported in the literature. For the cases analyzed both
 O. Garcı́a-Valladares / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 1062–1071 1067

criteria are equivalent. A change of variable has been intro- tube; Other data must be the following: kind of fluid (ther-
duced [17] to ensure the convergence, using m_ fNR instead mophysical and transport properties) and the boundary
of m_ as independent variable. A value greater than 3.5 of conditions inlet (or condenser) pressure (pcon) and tempera-
the factor fNR fits most applications well. ture (Tcon) or degree of subcooling (DTsc) in the cases of
After critical conditions are evaluated, the critical pres- inlet single phase flow or mass fraction (xgcon) in the cases
sure and discharge (or evaporator) pressure are compared. of inlet two-phase flow. From any of these values (temper-
If the critical pressure is greater than or equal to the dis- ature or mass fraction) and the pressure, enthalpy (the inde-
charge pressure, the flow is critical and the discharge shock pendent variable) is obtained; discharge (or evaporator)
wave is then solved. Otherwise, the flow is non-critical. pressure (pev) or temperature (Tev) must be also data.
Then, the mass flow rate that offers an outlet pressure equal Numerical parameters: number of control volumes (n),
to the discharge pressure is evaluated by means of another mesh concentration factor (k) and rate of convergence (d)
Newton–Raphson method, where the outlet pressure is must be given.
taken as dependent variable. The transitory solution is iter-
atively performed at each time step. 5. Numerical results
Input data. Internal diameter (D), coiled diameter (Dc),
inclination angle (h, taken as zero for the analyzed cases), A straight capillary tube model can also be applied
roughness (e) and length (L) of the coiled adiabatic capillary to coiled capillary tubes by changing the corresponding

130 95
R22 o
120 D c=80 mm 90 Tcon=54 C exp.
Tcon=48 oC exp.
Tcon=54 oC
Tcon=42 oC exp.
110 L=2 m 85
D=2.2 mm exp. Tcon=54 oC num.
o
D=1.6 mm exp. Tcon=48 C num.
100 80 o
D=1.4 mm exp. Tcon=42 C num.
D=1.2 mm exp.
Mass flow rate [kgh-1 ]

Mass flow rate [kgh-1 ]

90 D=1.0 mm exp. 75 R22

D=2.2 mm num. D c=40 mm
80 D=1.6 mm num. 70 D=1.6 mm
D=1.4 mm num.
Tev=7 oC
70 D=1.2 mm num. 65
D=1.0 mm num.
ΔTsc=10 oC
ε/D=0.001 4
60 60

50 55

40 50

30 45

20 40

10 35
0 5 10 15 20 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5
o
Degree of subcooling [ C] Capillary tube length [m]

46
ΔTsc=15 C exp.
o
R22
ΔTsc=10 C exp.
o

44 ΔTsc= 5 C exp.
o D=1.4 mm
L=2 m
ΔTsc=15 oC num. o
ΔTsc=10 oC num.
Tcon=54 C
42 ΔTsc= 5 oC num.
Mass flow rate [kgh-1]

40

38

36

34

32

30

28
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Coiled diameter [mm]

Fig. 3. Comparison of numerical simulation versus mass flow rates of R22 obtained by Zhou and Zhang [8] with: (a) different capillary tube diameters and
degree of subcooling; (b) different tube length and condensing temperature; and (c) different coiled diameters and degree of subcooling.
1068 O. Garcı́a-Valladares / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 1062–1071

friction factor equations as has been shown in previous temperature. Mass flow rate decreases rapidly as the tube
section. length increases (due to the increase in the pressure drop
In this section comparison of numerical results with through it), and it increases as condensing temperature
experimental data available in the technical literature illus- increases. The numerical mass flow rate calculated for these
trate the capabilities of the present model developed. All 12 cases overestimate the experimental results with an aver-
situations are analyzed using the following numerical age discrepancy of 4.15%.
parameters: d = 1 · 107, k = 3.5 and fNR = 3.5. All the Fig. 3c presents the mass flow rate variations versus the
numerical results presented are grid independent solutions. coiled diameters and degree of subcooling with both exper-
imental and modeling results. The experimental results
5.1. Comparison of the numerical results with experimental shown and the numerical results confirms that beyond
data by Zhou and Zhang [8] for R22 300 mm the mass flow rate changes little and with the
coiled diameter increasing from 40 to 120 mm, the mass
Fig. 3a shows the comparison of the Zhou and Zhang [8] flow rate increases about 3–4%. The numerical mass flow
experimental mass flow rates with the results obtained by rate calculated for these 24 cases overestimate the experi-
the present model for different degree of subcooling and mental results with an average discrepancy of 2.30%.
capillary tubes diameters (D = 1.0, 1.2, 1.4, 1.6 and The numerical mass flow rate obtained for these 51 cases
2.2 mm with a relative roughness (e/D) of 2.5 · 104, of coiled adiabatic capillary tubes offer a relative discrep-
4 · 104, 12.2 · 104, 14 · 104 and 11.6 · 104, respec- ancy of 3.22% against the experimental data and it is about
tively). The evaporation temperature is 7 C for all the 1–10% lower than the mass flow rate obtained for straight
Zhou and Zhang [8] analyzed cases. Similar to a straight capillary tubes with Garcı́a-Valladares et al. [9] model.
tube, the mass flow rate of the coiled adiabatic capillary
tube increases as the tube diameter increases (due to the 5.2. Comparison of the numerical results with experimental
decrease in the pressure drop through it). The numerical data by Kim et al. [5] for R22, R407C and R410A
mass flow rate calculated for these 15 cases offer an average
predicting deviation of 3.97%. The experimental mass flow rate results presented by
Fig. 3b presents the numerical and experimental mass Kim et al. [5] for a coiled adiabatic capillary tubes using
flow rates varying the capillary tube length and condensing three different fluids (R22, R407C [R32/125/134a, 23/25/
Table 1
Comparison of the mass flow rate between simulation results and experimental results given by Kim et al. [5]
Fluid pcona (bar) DTsc (C) Dc (mm) m_ exp (kg h1) m_ num (kg h1) Error (%)
R22 17.2923 1.5 200 50.652 48.708 3.838
5.0 200 55.044 53.542 2.729
10.0 200 61.848 60.082 2.855
1.5 120 49.104 48.144 1.956
5.0 120 53.676 52.911 1.425
10.0 120 60.264 59.343 1.529
1.5 40 47.556 46.799 1.592
5.0 40 52.200 51.403 1.526
10.0 40 58.356 57.578 1.333
R407C 19.7234 1.5 200 50.904 51.472 1.116
5.0 200 56.268 56.586 0.565
10.0 200 63.252 63.476 0.354
1.5 120 48.852 50.890 4.172
5.0 120 53.496 55.914 4.520
10.0 120 61.056 62.687 2.671
1.5 40 47.844 49.459 3.376
5.0 40 53.100 54.312 2.283
10.0 40 59.400 60.814 2.380
R410A 27.3354 1.5 200 62.352 63.354 1.607
5.0 200 68.328 69.051 1.058
10.0 200 76.680 76.652 0.037
1.5 120 59.580 62.588 5.049
5.0 120 66.780 68.202 2.129
10.0 120 75.420 75.676 0.339
1.5 40 57.456 60.785 5.795
5.0 40 61.992 66.203 6.792
10.0 40 72.000 73.380 1.917
P
Mean deviation (%) = jerrorj/cases 2.405
a
Bubble saturation pressure to 45 C according to REFPROP v.7.0 [15].
 O. Garcı́a-Valladares / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 1062–1071 1069

52% mass fraction] and R410A [R32/125, 50/50% mass tubes for these cases is about 1–8% lower than those
fraction]) have been used. The coiled adiabatic capillary obtained for straight capillary tubes calculated with
tube has the following geometry and boundary conditions Garcı́a-Valladares et al. [9] model.
for all the cases: L = 1.0 m, D = 1.5 · 103 m, e/D = 6 ·
105 and Tcon = 45 C. Table 1 shows experimental results 5.3. Comparison of the numerical results with experimental
and the corresponding numerical ones obtained, together data by Wang [18] for R22 and R407C
with the coiled diameter geometry and working conditions.
According to Kim et al. [5] outlet pressure of all their cases The experimental mass flow rate results by Wang [18]
reported are far lower than choking pressure due to this for coiled adiabatic capillary tubes using two different flu-
reason the outlet pressure is not considered. In the numer- ids (R22 and R407C) have been used. Due to roughness
ical model n = 300 for all these cases. measurement was not taken by the author; values consid-
Twenty-seven different cases have been tested. From ered are similar to those obtained by Kim et al. [5]. All
Table 1, it is observed that the numerical results give rea- the numerical cases evaluated in this section present choke
sonable and satisfactory deviation with respect to the exit conditions and n = 300.
experimental results in all the cases; the mass flow rate Fig. 4a shows the comparison of experimental mass flow
mean deviation for the 27 cases analyzed is lower than rates with the results obtained by the present model for dif-
2.41%. The numerical mass flow rate of coiled capillary ferent degree of subcooling and condensing pressures, with

36 46
D =130 mm, p =15.7 bar exp. R22 D =52 mm, p =15.7 bar exp. R22
34 D =130 mm, p =15.7 bar num.
D =130 mm, p =18.65 bar exp.
D=1 mm 44 D =52 mm, p =15.7 bar num. D=1.2 mm
D =130 mm, p =18.65 bar num. ε/D=0.00015 D =52 mm, p =18.65 bar exp. ε/D=0.0001
L=1 m D =52 mm, p =18.65 bar num. L=1 m
32 D =130 mm, p =21.6 bar exp.
42 D =52 mm, p =21.6 bar exp.
D =130 mm, p =21.6 bar num.
D =52 mm, p =15.7 bar exp. D =52 mm, p =21.6 bar num.
30 D =52 mm, p =15.7 bar num.
40
D =52 mm, p =18.65 bar exp.
Mass flow rate [kgh-1]

Mass flow rate [kgh-1]

D =52 mm, p =18.65 bar num.

28 D =52 mm, p =21.6 bar exp. 38
D =52 mm, p =21.6 bar num.

26 36

24 34
22 32
20 30
18 28
16 26
14
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 24
o 0 2 4 6 8 10 o 12 14 16
Degree of subcooling [ C] Degree of subcooling [ C]

100 34
D =130 mm, p =15.7 bar exp. R22 D =130 mm, p =15.7 bar exp. R407C
D =130 mm, p =15.7 bar num. 32 D =130 mm, p =15.7 bar num. D=1 mm
D=1.6 mm
D =130 mm, p =18.65 bar exp. D =130 mm, p =19.6 bar exp.
D =130 mm, p =18.65 bar num. ε/D=0.000056 D =130 mm, p =19.6 bar num. ε/D=0.00015
D =130 mm, p =21.6 bar exp. L=1 m 30 D =130 mm, p =23.5 bar exp. L=1 m
90 D =130 mm, p =21.6 bar num. D =130 mm, p =23.5 bar num.
D =52 mm, p =15.7 bar exp. D =52 mm, p =15.7 bar exp.
D =52 mm, p =15.7 bar num. 28 D =52 mm, p =15.7 bar num.
D =52 mm, p =18.65 bar exp. D =52 mm, p =19.6 bar exp.
Mass flow rate [kgh-1]

Mass flow rate [kgh-1]

D =52 mm, p =18.65 bar num. D =52 mm, p =19.6 bar num.
D =52 mm, p =21.6 bar exp. 26 D =52 mm, p =23.5 bar exp.
80 D =52 mm, p =21.6 bar num. D =52 mm, p =23.5 bar num.

24

22
70
20

18
60 16

14

50 12
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16
o o
Degree of subcooling [ C] Degree of subcooling [ C]

Fig. 4. Comparison of numerical simulation versus mass flow rates obtained by Wang [18] with: (a) R22 and 1 mm capillary tube diameter; (b) R22 and
1.2 mm diameter; (c) R22 and 1.6 mm diameter; and (d) R407C and 1 mm diameter.
1070 O. Garcı́a-Valladares / Applied Thermal Engineering 27 (2007) 1062–1071

1 m length and 1 mm coiled adiabatic capillary tube diam- from different sources and with different fluids (R22,
eter. As expected, the mass flow rate of the coiled adiabatic R407C and R410A), geometries and working conditions.
capillary tube increases as the condensing pressure and the Moreover, because the numerical model is based on the
degree of subcooling increases. The numerical mass flow applications of physical laws, it is possible to extrapolate
rate calculated for these 40 cases offer an average predicting with greater confidence to other fluids, mixtures and oper-
deviation of 3.78%. ating conditions; it allows using the model developed as an
Fig. 4b presents the numerical and experimental mass important tool to design and optimize these kinds of
flow rates with a 1.2 mm capillary tube diameter. The systems.
numerical mass flow rate calculated for these 26 cases offer
an average discrepancy of 2.6%. 6. Concluding remarks
Fig. 4c presents the mass flow rate variations versus the
degree of subcooling for a 1.6 mm capillary tube diameter The objective of this study was to extend and validate
with both experimental and modeling results. The mass the model developed in previous works [9,10] for analyzing
flow rate calculated numerically for these 47 cases have the behavior of coiled adiabatic capillary tube expansion
an average deviation 1.78% against experimental data. devices working with pure and refrigerants mixtures.
Fig. 4d presents the numerical and experimental mass The numerical model has been developed by means of a
flow rates given by Wang [3,18] with a 1 mm coiled adia- one-dimensional analysis of the governing equations (con-
batic capillary tube diameter working with R407C. The tinuity, momentum, energy and entropy). Metastable con-
numerical mass flow rate calculated for these 30 cases offer ditions both liquid and two-phase regions have been taken
an average discrepancy of 3.6%. into account.
The numerical simulations results compared with the The simulation has been implemented on the basis of a
143 experimental data by Wang [18] offers a relative dis- finite volume formulation of the governing equations. The
crepancy of ±2.68%. Moreover, the numerical results are solution has been carried out using an implicit step-by-step
an average of 3% lower than the mass flow rate obtained numerical scheme. The calculus of the mass flow rate has
for straight capillary tubes with Garcı́a-Valladares et al. been made iteratively by means of a Newton–Raphson
[9] model. method. In order to minimize computational cost, a special
treatment has been implemented to solve the CV that con-
tains transition between regions and a special mesh distri-
5.4. Global results bution has been used.
The accuracy of the detailed simulation model is demon-
Fig. 5 shows an excellent degree of correlation between strated in this paper due to numerical results are compared
all the numerical and experimental results compared. with a wide range of experimental data from the technical
97.7% of the 211 data points evaluated are within an error literature showing a good degree of agreement in the mass
of ±10%, 86% are within ±5% with a mean deviation for flow rate obtained. 97.7% of the 211 data points evaluated
all the cases of ±2.89%. Experimental data was obtained are within an error of ±10%, 86% are within ±5% with a
mean deviation for all the cases of ±2.89%. Moreover,
130 because the numerical model is based on the applications
120 Zhou and Zhang [8]: R22
of physical laws, it is possible to extrapolate with greater
+10%
+ Wang [18]: R22 and R407C
Kim et al. [5]: R22, R407C and R410A
confidence to other fluids, mixtures and operating condi-
110
Numerical mass flow rate [kgh-1]

0% error
±10% error
tions; it allows using the model developed as an important
100 -10% tool to design and optimize these kinds of systems.
90
++ Acknowledgement
80 +++
+++++
++
70 ++++
++
++
++++ The author thanks Professor C.C. Wang for the data
+++
60 ++++
+++
++ and technical support provided. This study has been par-
++
50 tially supported by CONACYT project U44764-Y.
40 ++
+++
++
++++ References
30 +
+++
++
++
+++
++
++
+++++
++
20 ++
+
+++++
+
+
+
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