Stratification and heat transfer characteristics for R32-partially miscible oil mixture flow boiling inside a micro-fin tube

R32 commonly applied in room air-conditioners has flammability, and the ways to decrease the charging amount, e.g. reducing the dissolution of refrigerant in the lubricating oil, are important to reduce combustion risk. The application of partially miscible oil rather than completely miscible oil can decrease R32 solubility but may deteriorate the heat transfer by the forming of pure oil layer, and thus the understanding of the stratification and flow boiling heat transfer characteristics of R32-partially miscible oil mixture is necessary. The purpose of this study is to experimentally investigate the stratification and flow boiling heat transfer characteristics of a mixture of R32 and partially miscible POE oil, and to propose a new heat transfer correlation. The experiments are carried out at evaporation temperature varying from -5 °C – 15 °C, total oil concentration varying from 1 % to 5 %, vapor quality varying from 0.1 – 0.9 and mass flux varying from 200 kg m^-2 s^-1 to 400 kg m^-2 s^-1.The results indicate that the stratification of R32-partially miscible oil mixture occurs at the high liquid oil concentrations, and an oil-poor layer and an oil-rich layer are involved in the stratified annular layer. R32-partially miscible oil mixture has higher flow boiling heat transfer coefficients than R32-completely miscible oil mixture due to the low viscosity of the oil-poor layer. A new flow boiling heat transfer correlation reflecting the effect of stratification is developed, and the predicted results agree with 91 % of the test results as the relative deviation ranges in ±20%.