Characteristics of Refrigerant Flow through Capillary Tubes and Short Tube Orifices

The capillary tube and short tube orifice have been widely used as an expansion device in the refrigeration and air-conditioning system. To improve the system performance, expansion devices need to be optimized with the components of a refrigeration system. In the present study, a numerical model for a capillary, which could predict the flow rate and properties along a tube, was developed by assuming homogeneous two-phase flow. A semi-empirical flow model for evaluation of the flow rate through a short tube orifice was also developed by using the experimental data. Finally, the results of the numerical model for a capillary was compared with those of the semi-empirical model for a short tube orifice to identify the dominant flow factors for the expansion devices.