Curvature Ratio Effect on Two-Phase Pressure Drops in Horizontal Return Bends: Experimental Data for R134a

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This article presents 154 pressure drop data points measured during two-phase flow of R-134a in horizontal return bends. The tube diameter is constant at 10.85 mm and the curvature ratio is either 7.74 or 5.53. Saturation temperature varies from 15 to 20°C, vapor quality from 0.05 and 0.95, and mass velocity ranges from 300 to 600 kg m−2 s−1. Return bend pressure drops are calculated by subtracting the straight tube pressure drop from the total measured pressure drop along the bend. The perturbations induced up- and downstream of the singularity are taken into account in the measurements. The comparison of the pressure drops for the two configurations (curvature ratio of 5.53 and 7.74) showed that they are greater (about 10%) for the larger curvature ratio. This can be attributed to the effect of the developed length on the pressure drop; on the other side the pressure gradients are larger for the lower curvature ratio, which can be explained by the effect of the centrifugal force and the perturbations up- and downstream of the return bend. The experimental data are compared against four prediction methods available in the literature. The Domanski and Hermès correlation is the best at predicting the present data.

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