Refrigerant Mixtures Flow Through Capillary Tubes: A Comparison Between Homogeneous and Separated-Flow Models

This paper presents a study on HCFC-22 alternative refrigerant mixture flow through capillary tubes, analyzing two different approaches for two-phase flow modeling: separated flow and homogeneous. Simulation results were compared to a large experimental data bank (about 200 different operational conditions/geometries) for R-410A and R-407C flow through capillary tubes for both subcooled and two-phase inlet conditions, obtained in an experimental unit implemented for this study. The comparison showed that both models are suitable for simulation of refrigerant mixture flow in capillary tubes, with the same error level in relation to experimental data.

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