“Flattened tube heat exchangers have received much attention as a possible replacement to traditional round tubes, but until now little research has been done on the thermal-hydraulic performance of flattened tubes under wet, dry and frosted conditions,” said Elizabeth Jones, a project manager with ARTI, which provided the funding for this project under its HVAC&R Research for the 21st Century program.
The geometry of a flattened tube, compared with the traditional round tube heat exchanger, allows for improved heat transfer and thermal performance; increased coil and overall unit efficiencies; substantial refrigerant charge reduction; and more compact and reduced coil size.