Investigations of thermal-flow characteristics of minichannel evaporator of air heat pump

The results of experimental investigations of heat transfer and a friction factor in an air channel of the minichannel heat exchanger are presented. The main aim of the analysis was to examine an influence of geometrical parameters of the fin shape with two geometries on heat transfer and flow characteristics of the air channel. The test rig was designed to monitor the parameters of the airflow during cooling by the minichannel heat exchanger. The analysis was conducted with the airflow in the range of 1–5 m/s. The temperature of the evaporation in a refrigeration system was set at 288.15 K. The energy balance of the refrigeration system was carried out. A numerical model describes the airflow through a part of the heat exchanger. Numerical simulations were validated with the experimental data. Numerical methods were used to evaluate the performance of the system and possibilities to improve the fin geometry. The characteristics of the friction factor (a measure of the pressure loss in the airflow) and the Colburn j-factor (heat transfer performance) were calculated. For the maximal velocity of the airflow, the Colburn factor was equal to 0.048 and the evaporator capacity equaled 1914 W.