Pool boiling heat transfer performance of low-GWP refrigerant R-513A on smooth tube

Abstract

This study presents the pool boiling heat transfer performance of R-513A, a low-GWP alternative to R-134a, on a smooth tube at various saturation temperatures. The tests were carried out in the heat flux range of 10 to 90 kW/m2. The experimental results show that at low heat flux q″ ≤ 30 kW/m2, the heat transfer coefficient (HTC) of R-513A is equivalent to R-134a, while at heat flux 30 ≥ q″ ≥ 90 kW/m2, the average HTC of R-513A is nearly 14% lower than that of R-134a irrespective of all the saturation temperatures. While the average HTC of pure R-513A is nearly 13% higher than that of R-1234ze(E). Further, the HTC of R-513A is compared with other similar alternative low GWP refrigerants R-1234yf, R-1234ze(E), and R-450A. According to the literature review, R-513A and R-1234yf perform almost equally well in terms of heat transfer during pool boiling. Depending on the boiling surface and testing setup, R-1234yf's pool boiling heat transfer performance is either less than or equal to R-134a.