Abstract: The built-in condenser used in household refrigerators has always been mainly circular tube type. In recent years, flat tube condenser has been preliminarily applied because of its good heat transfer characteristics. In order to study the performance difference between circular tube condenser and flat tube condenser, the heat transfer performance under different working conditions and foam thickness is studied by simulation analysis method. The results show that contrast to the circular tube, the average temperature of the outer steel plate is 0.2℃ higher, the outer heat flux of the steel plate can be increased by about 1.27%, and the overall heat exchange of condenser can be increased by 1.14% using flat tube under the same refrigerant temperature. The heat transfer effect of flat tube condenser is better than that of circular tube condenser.

Key words: Flat tube condenser, Heat transfer, Refrigerator, Simulation