Multichannel evaporator distributor

A heat exchanger comprising:

• a liquid distribution manifold;
• a fluid collection manifold;
• a plurality of parallel heat exchanger tubes fluidly connecting the liquid distribution manifold and the fluid collection manifold, wherein the plurality of heat exchanger tubes includes a plurality of active tubes;
• and
• a distributor arranged within the liquid distribution manifold, the distributor including:
• a distributor body having a first end, a second end, and a hollow interior;
• a fluid inlet formed at the first end;
• and
• a fluid outlet including a plurality of orifices formed in the distributor body, wherein the orifice of the plurality of orifices located closest to the fluid inlet is substantially aligned with one of the plurality of active tubes.

A method of designing a distributor for a heat exchanger of a residential heating ventilation and air conditioning system comprising:

• determining a number of orifices to form in a distributor body to achieve a ratio of a pressure drop across the distributor to a pressure drop across the heat exchanger between about 3 and about 7 at nominal refrigerant flowrate conditions;
• determining a spacing between the orifices, a first orifice being positioned in alignment with an active tube of the heat exchanger;
• collecting thermal images of a fluid flow through the heat exchanger when a distributor having the determined number of orifices and the determined spacing between the orifices is associated with a liquid distribution manifold of the heat exchanger;
• and
• determining which, if any, of the orifices to eliminate based on the thermal images from the outlet portion of the heat exchanger.