Experimental study on the influence of distributor types on the property effect of finned evaporator

This study aims to increase the heat exchange performance of finned evaporator at different temperatures. To this end, the influence of the construction design of distributors on the shunt performance of the rectifier nozzle-type critical distributor (RNCD) was analyzed in-depth. The Second-generation rectifier nozzle-type critical distributor (SRNCD) was designed and improved based on the first-generation rectifier nozzle-type critical distributor (FRNCD). The SRNCD further improved the shunt performance by reducing the internal pressure drop. The performance of air coolers installed with the FRNCD, SRNCD, Venturi distributor, and CAL distributor was experimentally examined. Several parameters were analyzed, including refrigerating capacity, overall heat transfer coefficient, unevenness of distributor, and pressure drop. The results indicated that when the temperature of the test chamber was −18 °C, the refrigerating capacity of the finned evaporator of the SRNCD was 28.19% and 23.88% higher than those of CAL and Venturi distributors, respectively. The overall heat transfer coefficient was enhanced by 29.54% and 27.38%, respectively. The critical distributor theory of the rectifying nozzle provided new thoughts for the application and promotion of the new distributor. In short, RNCD has a broad application prospect.