26/01/2022

Microchannel Evaporator is here!

Unilab is proud to announce that our Microchannel Evaporator software is here and available! Our new Microchannel Evaporator module is a uniquesolution in the market for this application. Until now, areal software development for microchannel evaporatorshad never been addressed, mainly due to lack of demandfrom the market and constructional problems of this typeof exchanger. However in the last years the constructionproblems seem to have been solved, and the interest fromthe market is increasing. Practical applications at presentare however few, and still on the experimental side. The Microchannel Evaporator product has always had one major issue. Since it isbasically a cooling coil, the main problem is that condensation forms, the condensationstops on the plates and acts as an insulator, thus needing to be removed. As themicrochannel plates are generally placed horizontally, it is an area where water stops.Therefore, the air velocity should be increased so that the air carries away the water, andthe plate treatment should also be hydrophilic. Some recent experimental studies havetried to place the fin vertically instead of horizontally, with good results.

Microchannel Evaporators are increasingly becoming a necessary technology,especially used in the automotive air conditioning market within conventional andelectric vehicles. Also in the field of data center conditioning, many applications arebeing tested in which instead of traditional coils, Microchannels are used both on thecondenser and evaporator side, however we are also in an experimental phase. It mustbe said that the precision air conditioning units that have an evaporating coil exploitno more than 20% of the surface of that coil: it is therefore clear that if we replace thatevaporating coil with a MICROCHANNEL EVAPORATOR, the advantages are enormousbecause it is possible to exploit the microchannel only for the surface that is needed, with enormous savings.

Microchannel Evaporator allows to quickly enter data of the heat exchanger andgenerate a very detailed print report. Like the other modules, it includes an archive of finsand tubes, materials and manifolds, available and expandable, and the software givesthe possibility to save and load calculations in individual projects. MicrochannelEvaporator allows, like the condenser module, to select the fins and the tubes from awide selection of types which can be updated by the user.

After entering the conditions, the dimensions of the evaporator with the number of passes+ the tubes arrangement by passes, and the geometrical data for fins and multiport tubes,the evaporator module produces a detailed output report and the drawing of theexchanger in 2D and 3D.

In the Evaporator module, three useful graphs are available. First is the phases distributionchart, which represents the overheated gas and the subcooled liquid, highlighting howmuch the microchannel is oversized and therefore the extra length that is not needed andcan be reduced.

Second is the temperature chart with the temperature trend along the heat exchanger.Third is the Mollier Diagram.