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SOCIETY OF AUTOMOTIVE ENGINEERS, INC.

Two Pennsylvania Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10001

Computer Simulation of
Automotive Air-Conditioning
Condensers

O. Conklu
Ford Motor Co.

Automotive Engineering Congress

Detroit, Mich. 720076
January 10-14, 1972
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 Downloaded from SAE International by Imperial College London, Monday, September 24, 2018
Computer Simulation of
Automotive Air-Conditioning
THE PURPOSE OF THIS PAPER is to describe an analytical
approach to aid in designing and developing air-conditioning
condensers. The mathematical model presented is applicable
to tube-and-fin type condensers, although it can be applied to
other types with minor modifications.
In the following sections a general review of air-condition
ing systems, operation of condensers, and description of con
denser simulation model are included.
DESCRIPTION OF AUTOMOTIVE AIR
CONDITIONING SYSTEM
An automotive air-conditioning system consists of the fol
lowing major components: evaporator; compressor; condenser;
expansion valve; and blower, air ducts, and registers.
The first four components comprise the refrigeration unit.
Blower, ducts, and registers constitute the air-side components
of the system.
In operation, refrigerant R-12 is circulated through the re
frigeration system by the pumping action of the compressor.
Low pressure (hence, low saturation temperature) refrigerant
in the evaporator provides the "cooling effect" for the overall
system. The heat absorbed from the interior air, the heat
gained from the engine compartment, and the heat generated
during the compression process are dissipated to the ambient
ABSTRACT
This paper presents a simulation model to predict the ther
mal performance of automotive air-conditioning condensers.
Operation of the air-conditioning system and the function of
the condenser are discussed briefly. Details of the formulation
to calculate various performance characteristics are given. Po
720076
Condensers
O. Conklu
Ford Motor Co.
air by the condenser (Fig. 1). The engine provides the energy
to drive the compressor. The resulting cycle is called vapor
compression cycle, and is conveniently represented on a pres
sure-enthalpy (p-h) diagram (1)*. A schematic diagram of the
refrigeration unit and the corresponding cycle are shown in
Fig. 2. It is seen that superheated vapor (vapor heated above
its saturation temperature) refrigerant enters the condenser.
Due to heat transfer between the refrigerant and the air the
vapor is first desuperheated, and then condensed to liquid
form. If the resulting temperature is less than the saturation
temperature, the refrigerant leaves the condenser in the sub
cooled state. This heat transfer process which converts the
high-temperature vapor into relatively low-temperature liquid
is described below.
HEAT TRANSFER PROCESS IN CONDENSER
The heat transfer process in the condenser consists of sev
eral steps. As shown in Fig. 3, "hot" refrigerant flows inside
the tubes over which colder ambient air is forced. Due to a
temperature difference (as shown in the figure), heat transfer
*Numbers in parentheses designate References at end of
paper.
tential applications of the corresponding computer program
are described. Comparison of the computer results to test
data shows that the model predicts heat rejections within 3-7%
and air discharge temperatures within 0.5 F of the laboratory
test data.
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takes place: first from the refrigerant to the tube through a
film of refrigerant; then, under the equilibrium conditions, the
same amount of heat is conducted through the wall to the air
film, and finally to the ambient air.
The amount of heat transferred during this process basically
depends on the following: condenser size; tube-and-fin de
sign; airflow (amount and velocity); air temperature; and re
frigerant temperature.
Design and development of condensers can be facilitated
significantly with a computer model. A complete design of a
condenser involves thermal and mechanical analyses as well as
manufacturing considerations. The object of the thermal
analysis is to determine the heat transfer areas necessary to re
ject a specified thermal load for prescribed operating condi
tions. Through such analyses, the interference with other sys
tems (engine cooling) is also checked. The mechanical analysis
involves durability, serviceability, etc. Manufacturing con
siderations require the translation of the design data into a
feasible unit that can be built at a low cost. A typical manu
facturing process is described in Ref. 2.
In the remainder of this paper, a description of an analytical
model is given which predicts the thermal performance of con
densers.
where
ANALYTICAL PREDICTION OF CONDENSER
PERFORMANCE
In the formulation of the analysis the following assumptions
are made:
1. Circular tubes with continuous plate-fins.
2.Constant refrigerant temperature across the condenser.
(Although the condensing temperature varies across the con
denser due to a phase change and to a pressure drop, this as
sumption is made to simplify the prediction of refrigerant film
coefficient. Error in overall results due to this assumption is
insignificant.)
3.Heat transfer resistance of deposits in the tubes is negligi
ble.
4.Heat transfer resistance of the tube material and the fin
tube joints are negligible. (Assumptions 3 and 4 introduce in
significant error since these resistances are small compared to
the resistance of air.)
5. Heat transfer resistance of desuperheated and subcooled
regions counteract each other's effect on the overall heat
transfer coefficient of the condenser.
6.Steady-state conditions.
Although relatively small error is introduced by each of
these assumptions, when combined these errors will reduce the
overall accuracy of the predicted results. The amount of such
accuracy can be established by a correlation study as de
scribed later.
THERMAL ANALYSIS OF CONDENSERS - The purpose
of this analysis is to predict the condenser heat rejection rate
and the average air temperature at the condenser discharge.
Basic equations for such analyses are obtained from the en
ergy and mass balances at the equilibrium condition, com
bined with the principles of cross-flow heat exchangers (3).
These equations are expressed as*
Heat rejection rate,
E is called the condenser (core) effectiveness and given byNew Text
*Description of symbols used in the equations is given in the
Nomenclature.
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and

Average air discharge temperature,

where c and n are determined empirically for a given tube

and-fin design and VF is the average air velocity at the con
Derivation of these equations is given in the Appendix. It is denser face, ft/min.
seen that the thermal performance of condensers (Qc and T2)
depends mainly on the core effectiveness for a specified set of The empirical values of c and n, determined from data given
operating conditions. The core effectiveness is defined as the in Ref. 4, are shown in Table 1. Large amounts of data are
ratio of the actual rate of heat transfer to the maximum pos also included in Ref. 3 for many types of fin-and-tube con
sible rate of heat transfer. It basically is a function of con
structions, from which fo can be predicted.
denser design, flow rates, and inlet temperatures. Condenser
4.Calculate the fin effectiveness ø. The fin effectiveness is
design parameters are either known or assumed, and later
iterated on at the start of calculation. Flow rates are deter defined as the ratio of heat transfer rate from a fin to the heat
transfer rate that would be obtained if the fins were main
mined experimentally, although correct airflow rates are diffi
cult to obtain due to the nature of the problem. Inlet tem tained at the temperature of the tubes. It must be noted that
peratures for air and refrigerant are also specified for a given the addition of fins lowers the mean surface temperature as it
increases the heat transfer area.
application. Thus, the main part of condenser analysis con
centrates on prediction of the core effectiveness ?. Ref. 3 Therefore, the heat-transfer rate increases only when the
increase in the surface area is more effective than the decrease
gives tabular solutions of ? for various applications. A step
by-step procedure for calculating Qc and T2 and the computer ingular
the mean surface temperature. The effectiveness of rectan
plate-fins may be approximated from curves included in
implementation of the method are given below. Refs. 3 and 5. For most designs, ø is about 0.95.
STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE TO CALCULATE 5.Estimate the refrigerant heat transfer coefficient fr. In
CONDENSER HEAT REJECTION RATE AND the absence of specific data on fr, the following approach,
DISCHARGE AIR TEMPERATURE given in Ref. 6, may be used. In this method, allowance is
made for the reduction in heat transfer area due to collection
1.Determine the following heat transfer areas: ofcondensate in the tubes. fr is determined from
Ap, Primary surface area (total tube surface area
including the "fin collars"-portions of the fins
attached to the tubes)
AF, Secondary surface area (total fin surface)
Ai, Total tube inside surface area where:
2.Calculate the total heat transfer area Ao:

3. Estimate the air side heat transfer (film) coefficient fo.

This coefficient is one of the most important factors. It is
affected mainly by the air velocity (radiator airflow) and the
core configuration, including fin spacing and the type of fins.
The relation between fo and the air velocity may be reduced
to the following form:
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A sample calculation utilizing this procedure follows.
ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE - The heat rejection rate and
the air discharge temperature are required for the condenser
and operating conditions stated below:
Condenser Data - Aluminum tube-and-fin condenser with the
following data:
Tubes: Staggered; OD = 3/8 in, ID = 0.335 in, 26.4 in long.
Total primary surface area = 7.41 ft2
Derivation of these equations and tabular solutions of O, J, 1sToteu13.crofnad1acr0ely
=
ft2
?, and ß for various operating conditions are given in Ref. 6. Total tube inside area = 6.75 ft2
In Eq. 3, ?t is an assumed value of temperature drop across Total tube inside area = 6.75 ft2
the refrigerant film. Hence, prediction of fr involves an itera Operating Conditions -
tion procedure which is illustrated below (6): Ambient air temperature = 110 F
(a)Assume a ?t, F. Refrigerant condensing temperature = 145 F
(b)Calculate fr from Eq. 3. Air face velocity = 465 ft/min (corresponding to a mass
flow rate of 6330 lb/h)
(c)Calculate (Tr - T1): Calculations[<_->] -

where 0.344 and 0.600 are obtained from Table 1.

Note that the second term in the right-hand side of this 4. ø= 0.99 (from Figs. 2-11, page 50, in Ref. 3)
equation represents the temperature drop across the air film. 5(a). ?t = 10 F (assumed)
Thus, the total drop must be equal to the difference between J = 0.094 (from Eq. 3c or from Table VII of Ref. 6)
the condensing temperature and the ambient temperature. d = 0.335 in (given)
If this equality is not satisfied with an accepted accuracy,
then modify the ?t and repeat steps (a), (b), and (c) above.
6. Calculate the overall heat transfer coefficient Uo, of the
condenser. Uo is based on the outside area Ao. It is deter
mined from the following relation in which resistances of the (from Eq. 3b)
tube walls and the deposits are neglected:

ß = 0.846 (from Table I of Ref. 6)

O = 347 (from Eq. 3a or from Table II of Ref. 6)

5(b).
7. Calculate the condenser core effectiveness.

8.Calculate the rate of heat rejection, Qc, at the condenser: 5(c).

9.Calculate the average air temperature at the condenser

outlet:

Since ?t is significantly less than (Tr - T1), it will be in

creased and steps 5(a) through 5(c) will be repeated.
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Let ?t = 19 F
Omitting the intermediate calculations,

? = 1.74 rad= 104.5 deg

ß = 0.850
O = 347

fr= 198

which is close to the calculated value

of 34.4
Therefore,
It is seen that of the 35 F temperature drop between the re
frigerant and the ambient air, 19 F drop occurs across the re
frigerant film and 16 F through the air film under the specified
operating conditions. COMPUTER SIMULATION OF CONDENSER THERMAL
PERFORMANCE

6.
The flow chart which is the basis of the computer program
is shown in Fig. 4. This approach is conveniently implemented
on the time-sharing digital computer. Output from such a pro
gram for the preceding example is shown in Fig. 5.
In order to check the accuracy of the simulation results, the
program was run for a certain condenser design with various
7. Airflow rate: operating conditions. Corresponding computer output (list
ing of input omitted) is shown in Fig. 6. These results are
compared to laboratory test data in Table 2. It is seen that:
1. Heat rejections are within 3-7%.
2.Air discharge temperatures are within 0.4 F of the test
data.
Potential applications of the program include:
1. Evaluating an existing (or proposed) condenser design.
2.Optimizing various condenser design parameters to meet
8. the established specifications.
3.Preparing charts for future ready reference.
4.Simulating and/or supporting laboratory tests for conden
ser performance.
Application to evaluate a design is illustrated above.
Design optimization can be accomplished either by iterative
9. analyses, or by incorporating an automatic optimization fea
ture into the program. In automatic optimization, minimum
and maximum values of certain design parameters are speci
fied. Accepted limits of a selected performance parameter
Thus, average temperature rise of air across the condenser is are also set. The program iterates, automatically, on these de
13.5 F. sign parameters and prints the "acceptable" designs. Output
Details of these condenser calculations are included here to from such a program is shown in Fig. 7. In this example, the
illustrate the computation procedure of the computer model condenser tube length, height, and the fin density are op
which is described below. As seen, the hand calculations may timized to provide 17000-22000 Btu/h heat rejection while
become tedious. In the computer inplementation of this pro all other design parameters and variables kept fixed. It must
cedure, tables for various parameters are stored in the program. be noted that when parameters like fin density or the tube
Therefore, the user needs only to specify the condenser dimen size are altered, air and refrigerant film coefficients may differ
sions and the operating conditions. significantly. Therefore, constants c and n, and probably the
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computation of fr may have to be modified empirically to

maintain the accuracy of predictions.
Application of the program to prepare performance charts
is illustrated in Table 3 and Fig. 8. Table 3 shows the com
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puter results for various air face velocities and condensing ?t = temperature differential across the refrigerant film
temperatures. These results are plotted in Fig. 8 to represent K = thermal conductivity
a set of performance curves for the condenser analyzed. ? = density
g = gravitational acceleration
CONCLUSIONS h = enthalpy
b = tube length
Thermal performance of automotive air-conditioning con µ = absolute viscosity
densers can be simulated successfully with an analytical model. ? = fin effectiveness
Computer implementation of such a model predicts heat re dT,dq = differentials for temperature and heat transfer rate,
jection within 3-7% and air discharge temperature within 0.5 F respectively
of the laboratory test data. Hence, use of the model facili c = thermal capacity rate
tates the design of condensers significantly. The accuracy of
the simulation results is significantly affected by the heat Subscripts
transfer coefficients. Parameters used in calculating the air
c = condenser
film coefficient are determined empirically for a given tube
a = air
and fin design. Refrigerant film coefficient is influenced by
the condensing temperature. Therefore, in design applica r = refrigerant
1 = condenser air inlet
tions or in further correlation studies these parameters must
2 = condenser air outlet
be established prior to analysis.
o = overall (outside for fo)
ACKNOWLEDGMENT P = prime (tube)
F = secondary (fin)
The author wishes to express appreciation to Bradley Ander i = inside
son and Joe Cooper, both of Ford Motor Co., for their contri f = refrigerant liquid phase
butions to this study. Mr. Anderson developed a portion of v = refrigerant vapor phase
the computer program and Mr. Cooper provided test data for fg= gas-to-liquid
the correlation study.
REFERENCES
NOMENCLATURE
1. W. F. Stoecker, "Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning."
Q = heat transfer rate New York: McGraw-Hill, 1958.
New Text ? = condenser effectiveness
core 2.W. Melnyk, "The Automotive Tube-and-Fin Air-Condi
m = mass flow rate tioning Condenser." Paper 690512 presented at SAE Mid
cp = specific heat of air at constant pressure Year Meeting, Chicago, May 1969.
3.W. M. Kays and A. L. London, "Compact Heat Ex
c p r = s p e c i f i c h e a t o f r e f r i g e r a n t a t c o npressure
stant changers." New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964.
T =temperature
4.E. D. Grimison, "Correlation and Utilization of New Data
e = base of the natural logorithm on Flow Resistance and Heat Transfer for Cross Flow of Gases
U = overall heat transfer coefficient
area area
Over Tube Banks." Trans. ASME, Vol. 59 (1937).
A =
f = film (heat transfer) coefficient
5.K. A. Gardner, "Efficiency of Extended Surfaces." Trans.
ASME, Vol. 67 (1945), pp. 621-631.
VF = air face velocity 6.J. B. Chaddock, "Film Condensation of Vapor in a Hori
D,d = tube inside diameter in feet and inches, respec zontal Tube." Refrigerant Engineering, Vol. 65, No. 4 (April
tively 1957).
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APPENDIX

DERIVATION OF BASIC EQUATIONS FOR CONDENSER and,

PERFORMANCE CALCULATIONS

Energy absorbed by the air through the condenser is given

by
or,

From the definition of the core effectiveness ?,

From Eqs. A-3 and A-5,

Hence,

Or, by rearranging the terms and integrating both sides,

and

which is Eq. 1 given earlier. Results of this integration are given by,
Also, from Eq. A-1,

Thus,

which is Eq. 2b given earlier.

Note, that for the condenser, since cpr is infinite for
Derivation of Eq. 2a is given in Ref. 3. It is rederived below
for convenience.
the condensation process.
From the equilibrium energy balance,
Therefore, Eq. A-6 is simplified as,
(Heat rejected from = (Heat absorbed by
the hot refrigerant)the ambient air)
On differential bases,

or,

Also, from the heat transfer theory,

Define mrcpr = cr and macp

specifc heatof the refrigerant.
= ca. Where, cpr is the mean
Then, from Eq. A-2,
Then, from Eq. A-2, Therefore,
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and, By combining the Eqs. A-7 and A-8 and using the relation
ca = macp one obtains,

which is the Eq. 2a given earlier.

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