Effect of Inundation Upon the Condensation Heat Transfer Performance of R-134a: Part I—Facility Overview and Data Analysis (RP-984)

An experimental facility was designed and constructed to measure shell-side condensation heat transfer data for R-134a condensing on three different tube types: a smooth tube, a two-dimensional tube, and a three-dimensional tube. The 1575 fin-per-meter tubes had an equivalent or nominal outside diameter of 19.1 mm. Twenty-five tubes were arranged in a three-column by ten-row staggered pattern with a horizontal and vertical pitch of 22.9 mm. The facility was designed to operate at saturation temperatures of 35°C and 40°C over a heat flux range of 7500 to 63000 W/m2. This paper presents a detailed facility description, the facility operating procedure, data analysis, and uncertainty analysis. Experimental results from this study are presented in a companion paper (Part II).