Transversal tube pitch effects on local heat transfer characteristics of the flat tube bank fin mounted vortex generators and their sensitivity to nonuniform temperature of the fin

The tube bank fin is commonly used to increase the area of the heat transfer surface with a small heat transfer coefficient of a heat exchanger. If vortex generators (VGs) are punched on the fin surface, the heat transfer performance of the fin can be improved. This paper focused on the effect of transversal tube pitch on the local heat transfer performance of the three-row flat tube bank fin mounted with VGs. On the fin surface, constructing the flow channel but without mounted VGs, the transversal tube pitch was greater, and the span averaged Nusselt number downstream was larger because fewer interactions of vortices would be generated from different VGs located upstream. When the area goodness factor was used as the criteria on the condition of one tube unit of heat exchanger for commonly used fin materials and fin thickness, the transversal tube pitch has considerable effect on the heat transfer enhancement of VGs. Large transversal tube pitch is more sensitive to fin material than to fin thickness.     

Numerical study of the fin efficiency and a modified fin efficiency formula for flat tube bank fin heat exchanger

In this paper, a three-dimensional numerical heat transfer analysis has been performed in order to obtain the temperature distribution and the fin efficiency using the experimentally determined local heat transfer coefficients from the naphthalene sublimation technique and heat and mass transfer analogy. The influences of the fin material, fin thickness, and transversal tube pitch on the fin efficiency are studied for flat tube bank fin heat exchangers. The fin efficiency, obtained by a numerical method using the averaged heat transfer coefficient, is compared with that using the local heat transfer coefficient. The reliability of the generally used formula for fin efficiency is tested also, and then a modified fin efficiency formula with a new equivalent fin height is provided. The results show that the difference between the fin efficiency obtained by the numerical method using the local heat transfer coefficient and the fin efficiency using the averaged heat transfer coefficient is small, but the fin efficiency obtained by the generally used formula is lower than that obtained by the numerical method using the local heat transfer coefficient; the fin efficiency obtained by the modified formula matches very well with the fin efficiency obtained by the numerical method using the local heat transfer coefficient. The modified formula for the fin efficiency calculation is more reliable, and it can be applied directly to the design of a flat tube bank fin heat exchanger and also will be useful in engineering applications.     

Parametric and design optimization investigation of a wavy fin and tube air heat exchanger using the T-G technique

The focus of this paper is to optimize the air-side performance of a wavy fin and tube heat exchanger at different design parameters on an individual target response using the Taguchi method. However, a statistical concept, gray relational analysis, is also studied for combined optimization, considering all target responses at a time. Based on the heat exchanger requirement, parametric study for the air-side is regarded as a more significant heat transfer and lower frictional factor. Experimental correlations were available and used for the 27 orthogonal runs. Investigation revealed the highest 47.06% fin pitch, 37.24% fin pitch, 25.46% air velocity, and 23.9% fin thickness contribution ratio for the target response of friction factor (TPF), heat transfer coefficient, and Colburn factor, respectively, with the application of the Taguchi method in a heat exchanger. GRG gives an optimum set of design parameters, A3B3C2D1E3F2G1, for wavy fin and tube of fin pitch of 6 mm, tube row number of 6, waffle height 1.8 mm, fin thickness 0.12 mm, and air velocity 5 m/s. Also, longitudinal tube pitch is 27.5 mm, and transverse tube pitch of 24.8 mm, at which TPF is maximum while the friction factor is minimal. The Colburn factor is the most significant, minor friction factor, and the heat transfer coefficient and TPF are the most considerable in GRG. Hence, an improved heat transfer performance design of a wavy fin and tube heat exchanger is achieved using the above techniques.     

The condition requiring conjugate numerical method in study of heat transfer characteristics of tube bank fin heat exchanger

The overall heat transfer performance of a tube bank fin heat exchanger is very important for engineering applications. Developing a fin pattern with good heat transfer performance for tube bank fin heat exchanger needs more our intensive effort. There are two methods to obtain the heat transfer performances of a fin pattern, i.e., one is experimental method, and the other is numerical method. If numerical method is used, the thermal boundary condition on the fin surfaces is necessary. Generally, there are two ways to treat the thermal boundary, i.e., one is to treat fin surface with uniform temperature, and the other is to use a conjugate numerical method. The former is very easy to be applied in numerical method, but the latter needs more numerical effort. This paper reports the condition under which whether a conjugate numerical method or a numerical method just specifying uniform temperature thermal boundary condition should be used. It is found that such condition is the fin efficiency. When the fin efficiency is less than 0.8, a conjugate numerical method must be used. Otherwise, the numerical results obtained by applying an uniform temperature thermal boundary condition on the fin surfaces has only slightly differences with the results obtained by a conjugate numerical method. The reported results will provide a criterion for the researchers to choose a suitable numerical method in finding a fin pattern more efficiently and reliably.     

Effects of winglets to augment tube wall heat transfer in louvered fin heat exchangers

The louvered fin heat exchanger, a type of compact heat exchanger, has been used heavily in the automotive and air conditioning industries for the last several decades. The majority of past research, aimed towards improving louvered fin exchanger efficiency, has focused on optimizing various parameters of the louvered fin. The experimental study presented in this paper concentrates instead on augmenting the heat transfer along the tube wall of the compact heat exchanger through the use of winglets placed on the louvers. The experiments were completed on a 20 times scaled model of an idealized louvered fin exchanger with a fin pitch to louver pitch ratio of 0.76 and a louver angle of 27°. The Reynolds numbers tested, based on louver pitch, were between 230 and 1016. A number of geometrical winglet parameters, including angle of attack, aspect ratio, direction, and shape, were all evaluated based on heat transfer augmentation, friction factor augmentation, and efficiency index (combination of both augmentations). In an attempt to optimize these winglet parameters, tube wall heat transfer augmentations as high as 39% were achieved with associated friction factor augmentations as high as 23%.     

Numerical study on air-side performance of an integrated fin and micro-channel heat exchanger

A new type of aluminum heat exchanger with integrated fin and micro-channel has been proposed. The air-side heat transfer and flow characteristics of the integrated fin and micro-channel heat exchanger are systematically analyzed by a 3D numerical simulation. The effect of flow depth, fin height, fin pitch and fin thickness at different Reynolds number is evaluated by calculating Colburn factor j and Fanning friction factor f. A parametric study method is used to analyze the fin designed parameters affecting the performance of the heat exchanger. The results show that the contribution ratio of the fin geometries in descending order is flow depth, fin pitch, fin height and fin thickness. The air-side performance of the integrated fin and micro-channel heat exchanger is compared with that of the multi-louver fin micro-channel heat exchanger and the wavy fin micro-channel heat exchanger.     

螺旋翅片管束传热和阻力特性的试验研究

对13个不同翅片间距、翅片高度、横向管间距、纵向管间距的螺旋翅片管束换热器在不同雷诺数条件下的传热和阻力特性进行了试验研究,得出了翅片间距、翅片高度、横向管间距、纵向管间距及雷诺数与换热特性Nu和阻力特性Eu的准则关系式,并对准则关系式进行了分析.结果表明:随着横向管间距和翅片间距的增大,螺旋翅片管的传热得到强化,但随着纵向管间距和翅片高度的增加,螺旋翅片管的传热有所减弱;随着横向管间距、纵向管间距和翅片间距的增大,螺旋翅片管的阻力减少,但随着翅片高度的增加,螺旋翅片管的阻力增加.     

Optimization of heat exchangers with vortex-generator fin by Taguchi method

A comparative study of effects of attack angle, length of vortex generator, height of vortex generator, fin material, fin thickness, fin pitch and tube pitch on fin performance of vortex-generator fin-and-tube heat exchanger is conducted by numerical method. The parameters of vortex-generator fin-and-tube heat exchangers are optimized by the Taguchi method. Eighteen kinds of models are made by compounding levels on each factor, and the heat transfer and flow characteristics of each model are analyzed. The results show that these six factors (fin pitch, longitudinal tube pitch, transverse tube pitch, length of vortex generator, height of vortex generator, and attack angle of vortex generator) have great influences on the JF-factor. The fin material and fin thickness have trifling effects on the JF-factor. The two optimal conditions (A1B3C3D2E1F2G1H3 and A2B2C2D3E1F2G1H3) are acquired, and the reproducibility of the results is verified by two analytical results.     

Modeling for predicting frosting behavior of a fin–tube heat exchanger

A mathematical model is proposed to evaluate the frosting behavior of a fin–tube heat exchanger under frosting conditions. Empirical correlations of the heat transfer coefficients for the plate and tube surfaces and a diffusion equation for the frost layer are used to establish the model. The correlations for the heat transfer coefficients, derived from various experimental data, were obtained as functions of the Reynolds number and Prandtl number. The proposed model is validated by comparing the numerical results with experimental data for the frost thickness, frost accumulation, and heat transfer rate. The numerical results agree well with the experimental data. It is also found that this model can be applied to evaluate the thermal performance of a common fin–tube heat exchanger under frosting conditions.     

Experimental investigation of heat transfer and pressure drop in serrated-fin tube bundles with staggered tube layouts

An experimental investigation of the heat transfer and pressure drop performance of ten finned tube bundles using serrated fins is presented. All tube bundles had staggered layouts, and the influence on varying tube bundle layout, tube and fin parameters are presented. The heat transfer coefficient experienced a maximum when the flow areas in the transversal and diagonal planes were equal. An increase in the fin pitch increased the heat transfer coefficient; the same was observed with an increase in fin height. The pressure drop coefficient showed no influence of the tube bundle layout for small pitch ratios, but dropped significantly for higher ratios. Increasing fin pitch reduced the pressure drop, whereas varying fin height had insignificant effect. None of the literature correlations were able to reproduce the experiments for the entire range of tested conditions. A set of correlations were developed, reproducing the experimental data to within ±5% at a confidence interval of 95%.     

Experimental study on heat and mass transfer characteristics of louvered fin-tube heat exchangers under wet condition

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effect of a tube row, a fin pitch and an inlet humidity on air-side heat and mass transfer performance of louvered fin-tube heat exchangers under wet condition. Experimental conditions were varied by three fin pitches, two rows, and two inlet relative humidities. From the experimental results, it was found that the heat transfer performance decreased and the friction increased with the decrease of a fin pitch, for 2 row heat exchanger. The effect of a fin pitch on heat transfer performance was negligible with 3 row heat exchanger. The change in a relative humidity was not affected heat transfer and friction. However, the mass transfer performance was slightly decreased with the increase of a relative humidity and with the decrease of a fin pitch. The mass transfer performance decreased with the decrease of a fin pitch. The mass transfer performance of the louvered fin-and-tube heat exchanger was different according to the number of a tube row.     

Heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics of a heat exchanger for recovering latent heat (effects of straight fin length and fin pitch on the heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics)

In recent years, the requirement for the reduction of energy consumption has been increasing to solve the problems of global warming and the shortage of petroleum resources. A latent heat recovery type heat exchanger is one of the effective methods for improving thermal efficiency by recovering latent heat. This paper describes the heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics of a latent heat recovery type heat exchanger having straight fins (fin length: 65 mm or 100 mm, fin pitch: 2.5 mm or 4 mm). These were clarified by measuring the exchange heat quantity, the pressure loss of the heat exchanger, and the heat transfer coefficient between the outer fin surface and gas. The effects of fin length and fin pitch on heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics were clarified. Furthermore, equations for predicting the heat transfer coefficient and pressure loss which are necessary for heat exchanger design were proposed. ©2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 36(4): 230– 247, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.20153 Copyright © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

带短肋翅片管的强化传热机理研究

同时对普通翅片管和带有两个短肋的翅片管在均匀流场中、不同雷诺数下进行了流场和传热的数值模拟,分析了带有短肋的翅片管强化传热的机理。结果表明,由于翅片上带有的短肋和短肋后面的开孔,减少了翅片管管后流动的死滞区,提高了局部地区流体的流速,增加了扰动,从而起到了强化传热的作用。取入口雷诺数为20000时,加装短肋后可使总传热量增加5.1%,平均表面传热系数增加23.56%。随着雷诺数的增加,总换热量增加,强化传热效果也增强。     

Performance analysis of finned tube and unbaffled shell-and-tube heat exchangers

This work considers an optimum design problem for the different constraints involved in the designing of a shell-and-tube heat exchanger consisting of longitudinally finned tubes. A Matlab simulation has been employed using the Kern's method of design of extended surface heat exchanger to determine the behavior on varying the values of the constraints and studying the overall behavior of the heat exchanger with their variation for both cases of triangular and square pitch arrangements, along with the values of pressure drop. It was found out that an optimum fin height existed for particular values of shell and tube diameters when the heat transfer rate was the maximum. Moreover it was found out that the optimum fin height increased linearly with the increase in tube outer diameter. Further studies were also performed with the variation of other important heat exchanger design features and their effects were studied on the behavior of overall performance of the shell-and-tube heat exchanger. The results were thereby summarized which would proclaim to the best performance of the heat exchanger and therefore capable of giving a good idea to the designer about the dimensional characteristics to be used for designing of a particular shell and tube heat exchanger.     

Performance evaluation of flat finned tube fin heat exchanger with different fin surfaces

When an extended surface is needed on only one fluid side (such as in a gas-to-liquid exchanger) or when the operating pressure needs to be contained on one fluid side, a tube-fin exchanger may be selected, with the tubes being round, flat, or elliptical in shape. The paper is concerned with the performance evaluation of flat tube fin heat exchangers (TFHE), having different fin configurations and flat tubes. The thermal performance of each configuration is based on the ε-NTU method. The extensive experimental research data of Kays and London available in the form of graphs are translated into algebraic relations for developing computational models. From the present work, a generalized heat transfer correlations is proposed based on geometrical parameters for the effectiveness of the heat exchanger. The generalization is with respect to the different fin surface geometry and not with the different combination of hot and cold fluids. The correlation is limited in its applicability to gas to water heat exchangers only. Further, guidelines are proposed for an easy way of designing a TFHE using correlations based on geometrical parameters and the same is compared with traditional ε-NTU method.     

Three-dimensional performance analysis of plain fin tube heat exchangers in transitional regime

Three-dimensional CFD simulations are carried out to investigate heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics of a four-row plain fin-and-tube heat exchanger using the Commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics Code ANSYS CFX 12.0. Heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of the heat exchanger are investigated for Reynolds numbers ranging from 400 to 2000. Fluid flow and heat transfer are simulated and results compared using both laminar and turbulent flow models (k-ω) with steady and incompressible fluid flow. Model validation is carried out by comparing the simulated case friction factor (f) and Colburn factor (j) with the experimental data of Wang et al. [1]. Reasonable agreement is found between the simulations and experimental data. In this study the effect of geometrical parameters such as fin pitch, longitudinal pitch and transverse pitch of tube spacing are studied. Results are presented in the form of friction factor (f) and Colburn factor (j). For both laminar and transitional flow conditions heat transfer and friction factor decrease with the increase of longitudinal and transverse pitches of tube spacing whereas they increase with fin pitches for both in-line and staggered configurations. Efficiency index increases with the increase of longitudinal and transverse pitches of tube spacing but decreases with increase of fin pitches. For a particular Reynolds number, the efficiency index is higher in in-line arrangement than the staggered case.     

空气横掠管束换热实验研究

扩展传热面是提高单位体积内传热面积最常用的方法。以空气为介质,对三种给定的肋片管束(H型、纵肋肋片、螺旋肋片)进行了顺列和错列的换热和流动阻力实验。实验结果表明:错列布置的管束换热效果优于顺列布置的管束,但流动阻力相应增加;错列布置时,综合考虑换热和阻力因素,螺旋肋片管有较好的换热经济性。通过对实验数据进行拟合回归,得出了实验条件下各肋片管束顺列、错列布置的换热关联式。为肋片管束的工程应用、优化选取及进一步的实验研究提供了理论依据。     

A numerical study of flow behavior in the shell and helical finned-tube heat exchanger

Extended surfaces mostly aim to improve the heat transfer upon increasing the area of heat transfer. In this paper, the influence of using fins on flow behaviors and the heat transfer of the shell and tube heat exchanger has been investigated. In this regard, the present results are verified with available experimental data in the literature for a helical tube without fins. The effects of fin density (fin per inch), its height, and material have been studied on the heat transfer rate. In addition, the effects of radial pitch and the number of coil loops are studied. The results indicate that implementing extended surfaces significantly increases the heat transfer rate. The increase of fin density from 8 to 12 and the height from 11.5 to 13.5 mm enhances heat transfer up to 48% and 43% depending on Dean number, respectively. The rise of coil pitch augments the overall heat transfer, and it is more efficient at lower Dean numbers. The predicted results also show that the fin material does not have any significant effect on heat transfer.     

Comparisons of Local Experimental Results with Numerical Results of Heat Transfer Enhancement of a Flat Tube Bank Fin with Vortex Generators

The common way to obtain the fin pattern of a tube bank fin heat exchanger with good heat transfer performance is through experiments. Such experiments are complex, expensive, and very difficult to carry out. Recently, numerical analysis has become a powerful method for selecting the fin pattern of tube bank fin heat exchangers. In this article, we focus on testing the reliability of the numerical method by comparing local numerical results with local experimental results obtained through naphthalene sublimation. The target of numerical analyses carried out here is a flat tube bank fin heat exchanger mounted with vortex generators. The results show that using body-fitted coordinates, with proper treatment of vortex generators penetrating the fluid flow, leads to reliable local and average results.     

百叶窗翅片结构对空气侧流动换热影响的研究进展

百叶窗翅片作为换热器主要翅片形式之一,其结构对空气侧流动换热特性有着重要影响。本文总结了近年来国内外在百叶窗翅片结构对空气侧流动换热影响方面的研究,包括翅片间距、翅片高度、翅片厚度、翅片深度、百叶窗间距及开窗角度对空气侧换热系数、压降、流动效率、传热因子和摩擦因子的影响。研究表明:传热因子随开窗角度和翅片深度的增加而增大,随翅片间距的增加而减小;摩擦因子随开窗角度的增大而增大,随百叶窗间距的增大而减小;其中,开窗角度与翅片深度分别是影响空气侧流动和换热的最主要因素。最后,在百叶窗结构的基础上,提出了对翅片表面进行处理以及使用新型翅片结构等途径来进一步强化空气侧流动换热的建议。