A numerical analysis of adiabatic capillary tube performance in vapor compression refrigeration systems

Abstract EN

This paper represents a numerical analysis intended for the selection and geometry design of the capillary tubes used in the vapor compression refrigeration units.

This expansion component is usually selected for small home air conditioning units and domestic refrigerators and freezers for their ease integration with the cooling units and cheap prices.

The numerical step by step model suggested in this work depends mainly on the idea of the control volume theory for the conservation of mass, energy and linear momentum of fluid refrigerants flowing inside the capillary tube.

The flow regime is divided into a number of increments for which the conservation expressions were solved simultaneously for the physical characteristics parameters.

These are temperature, pressure, and vapor quality and mixture velocity along the capillary tube from the entrance at the high pressure side to the exit at the low pressure side of the refrigeration unit.

The theoretical prediction for the profile of the characteristics parameters showed a good agreement with available experimental data in the literature and the ASHRAE published rating charts of the capillary tubes.