A comparison study on fin surfaces in finned‐tube heat exchangers

Abstract

A three‐dimensional numerical study was conducted to assess the heat transfer performance of extended fins in a two‐row finned tube heat exchanger. Fins under investigation were plane and slit types. A finite volume discretization method and a SIMPLE‐based solution algorithm were, respectively, applied to working differential equations and their discrete counterparts to compute the gas velocities and pressure. The temperatures of solid and gas phases were computed from the same energy equation with different diffusivities and prescribed convective fluxes. The main objective of this study was to compare the transfer capabilities of the two investigated fin shapes. Their capabilities as a whole are presented in terms of the computed Nusselt number and the pressure drop across the flow passage.

Citation

Sheu, T.W.H. and Tsai, S.F. (1999), "A comparison study on fin surfaces in finned‐tube heat exchangers", International Journal of Numerical Methods for Heat & Fluid Flow, Vol. 9 No. 1, pp. 92-106. https://doi.org/10.1108/09615539910251149