Analysis and Prediction of Condensation Heat Transfer of the Zeotropic Mixture R-125/236ea

Abstract The high temperature glide mixture R-125/236ea at three mass compositions (28/72%, 46/54%, 63/37%) is tested during condensation against water in a tube-in-tube heat exchanger. The experimental runs to measure the heat transfer coefficients are carried out at saturation temperature ranging from 40°C to 60°C and mass velocities ranging from 100 to 750 kg/(m2 s). A gas chromatograph is used for on-line concentration measurements. By comparing the heat transfer performances of the three compositions to the condensation coefficients previously measured for the two pure components inside a smooth horizontal tube [Cavallini et al. (2000)], the dependence of the heat transfer performance on composition during condensation for a non-azeotropic mixture is investigated. The film method by Colburn and Drew (1937) is applied to predict the experimental coefficients and it is found to underestimate the heat transfer rate, with more conservative results as compared to the equilibrium method by Silver (1947), Bell and Ghaly (1973).