Numerical Investigation on Two-Phase Flow Distribution in Plate-Fin Heat Exchangers and Experimental Verification

The controlled distribution of a fluid to the entrance surface of a process, or into the volume of equipment, is an important issue for various aspects of process performance. The flow field in the inlet double-bend distributor and single-bend distributor were obtained through the numerical solution of the governing partial differential equations including the conservation equations of mass and momentum. The experimental studied prove good agreement between the model simulation and experiment data. The results show that double-bend distributor has more advantage than single-bend one; the behavior of flow is very dependent on flow pattern upstream of the distributor.