Friction and convection studies of R-134a in microchannels within the transition and turbulent flow regimes

Fluid flow and heat transfer characteristics of single-phase flows in microchannels for refrigerant R-134a were experimentally investigated. Experiments were conducted using rectangular channels micromilled in aluminum with hydraulic diameters ranging from approximately 112 to 210 mum and aspect ratios that varied from 1.0 to 1.5. Using overall temperature, flow rate, and pressure drop measurements, friction factors and convective heat transfer coefficients were experimentally determined for steady flow conditions. Effects of Reynolds number, relative roughness, and channel aspect ratio are examined in predicting friction factor and Nusselt number for the experiments. Experiment results indicated that transition from laminar to turbulent flow occurred between a Reynolds number of 2,000 and 4,000. Friction factor results were consistently lower than values predicted by macroscale correlations but exhibited the same trends with Reynolds numbers of macroscale correlations. Nusselt number results also exhibited a similar pattern of lower values obtained in the experiments than those predicted by commonly used macroscale correlations. Nusselt number results also indicated that channel size may suppress turbulent convective heat transfer and surface roughness may affect heat transfer characteristics in the turbulent regime.