Effect of flow direction on two-phase flow distribution of refrigerants at a T-junction

The present study experimentally investigated the effect of flow direction and other flow parameters on two-phase flow distribution of refrigerants at a T-junction, and also suggested a prediction model for refrigerant in a T-junction by modifying previous model for air-water flow. R-22, R-134a, and R-410A were used as test refrigerants. As geometric parameters, the direction of the inlet or branch tube and the tube diameter ratio of branch to inlet tube were chosen. The measured data were compared with the values predicted by the models developed for air-water or steam-water mixture in the literature. We propose a modified model for application to the reduced T-junction and vertical tube orientation. Among the geometric parameters, the branch tube direction showed the biggest sensitivity to the mass flow rate ratio for the gas phase, while the inlet quality showed the biggest sensitivity to the mass flow rate ratio among the inlet flow parameters.

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