Heat transfer during condensation in corrugated plate heat exchangers

ABSTRACT Prediction of heat transfer during condensation in plate heat exchangers is of much practical importance as they are widely used in many applications including refrigeration. While many correlations have been published, there has been no comprehensive evaluation by comparison with a wide range of data from many sources. The research reported here was done to fulfil this need. Analyzable data from 25 sources were collected and compared to 11 published correlations. The data included chevron angles from 30 to 75 degree, 18 fluids (water, ammonia, hydrocarbons, halocarbon refrigerants), reduced pressure from 0.0083 to 0.8, and mass flux from 2.3 to 165 kgm−2s−1. Two of the published correlations gave fairly good agreement while other correlations had much larger deviations. A new correlation was developed by modifying the Longo et al. correlation. The new correlation is more accurate and is easier to use. Its mean absolute deviation is 19.5% for chevron angles 40° to 65°.