Air Flow Distribution through an A-Shaped Evaporator under Dry and Wet Coil Conditions

Published

July 11, 2010

Author(s)

David A. Yashar, Piotr A. Domanski

Abstract

This paper presents a study of the air flow distribution through a residential air-conditioning heat exchanger. The test subject was a finned-tube, A-shaped coil outfitted with a condensation collection pan required for horizontal installation. We examined the air flow distribution approaching and exiting the coil at the rated and a reduced air flow rate, and at two humidity levels. Our measurements showed that the presence of the condensation collection hardware greatly impedes air flow through the lower slab of the coil, and uncovered portions of the coil where the airflow is blocked by the mounting hardware. The wet coil tests showed that the presence of water on the coil causes a large increase in air flow resistance which has an effect on the flow distribution. The distribution of water concentration was non-uniform and time dependent. We also developed a computational model of the flow through the test coil, based on a momentum resistance modeling approach.

Proceedings Title

13th International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference at Purdue

Conference Dates

July 12-15, 2010

Conference Location

West Lafayette, IN

Pub Type

Conferences

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Keywords

air distribution, finned tube heat exchanger

Citation

Yashar, D. and Domanski, P. (2010), Air Flow Distribution through an A-Shaped Evaporator under Dry and Wet Coil Conditions, 13th International Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Conference at Purdue, West Lafayette, IN, [online], https://tsapps.nist.gov/publication/get_pdf.cfm?pub_id=905426 (Accessed December 13, 2024)