Heat transfer characteristics of flat plate finned-tube heat exchangers with large fin pitch

The objective of this study is to provide experimental data that can be used in the optimal design of flat plate finned-tube heat exchangers with large fin pitch. In this study, 22 heat exchangers were tested with a variation of fin pitch, number of tube row, and tube alignment. The air-side heat transfer coefficient decreased with a reduction of the fin pitch and an increase of the number of tube row. The reduction in the heat transfer coefficient of the four-row heat exchanger coil was approximately 10% as the fin pitch decreased from 15.0 to 7.5 mm over the Reynolds number range of 500–900 that was calculated based on the tube diameter. For all fin pitches, the heat transfer coefficient decreased as the number of tube row increased from 1 to 4. The staggered tube alignment improved heat transfer performance more than 10% compared to the inline tube alignment. A heat transfer correlation was developed from the measured data for flat plate finned-tubes with large fin pitch. The correlation yielded good predictions of the measured data with mean deviations of 3.8 and 6.2% for the inline and staggered tube alignment, respectively.     

Effect of strip location on the air-side pressure drop and heat transfer in strip fin-and-tube heat exchangerEffet de la localisation des gaufrures d’ailettes sur la chute de pression de l''air et sur le transfert de chaleur dans un échangeur à tubes à ailettes

This work discusses about the pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of a plain fin, a strip fin and combinations thereof in the fin-and-tube heat exchanger. Experimental apparatus and test algorithm using scale-up model fin geometry are discussed. The present work uses the electric heaters inside of the tube as the heating source to simulate the hot water loop in the wind tunnel test. The test results of the plain and strip fins are compared with the existing correlation and experimental data. It was found that a hybrid fin, plain fin at front row and strip fin at rear row, was more effective to enhance the heat transfer than that of the whole strip fin at the same fan power.

Résumé

Dans l’article, on traite des caractéristiques de la chute de pression et du transfert de chaleur d’une ailette lisse, d’une ailette gaufrée et de combinaisons de ces deux types d’ailettes dans un échangeur de chaleur à tubes ailetés. Le dispositif expérimental et l’algorithme utilisant une géométrie des ailettes échelonnées sont présentés. On utilise des équipements de chauffage électriques à l’intérieur du tube, comme source de chaleur, pour simuler la boucle d’eau chaude dans le tunnel expérimental. Les résultats expérimentaux concernant les ailettes lisses et les ailettes gaufrées sont comparés avec la corrélation existante et les données expérimentales. On a observé que des ailettes hybrides, c’est-à-dire lisses à la rangée frontale et gaufrées à la rangée arrière, étaient plus efficaces pour intensifier le transfert de chaleur que des ailettes entièrement gaufrées, à la même puissance du ventilateur.     

Evaluation of thermal contact conductance using a new experimental-numerical method in fin-tube heat exchangers

In a fin-tube heat exchanger the contact between fin collar and tube surface is obtained through mechanical expansion of tubes. Since the interfaces between the tubes and fins consist partially of metal-to-metal contact and partially of air, the features of heat transfer through the contact interfaces have not been fully investigated. The present study aims at the development of a new tool including an experiment and a numerical calculation for the estimation of the thermal contact conductance between the fin collar and tube surface, and pursues the evaluation of the factors affecting the thermal contact conductance in a fin-tube heat exchanger. Heat exchangers fabricated for the current study have been put to the test for heat balance in a vacuum chamber with water as an internal fluid. And a finite difference numerical scheme has been used for the data reduction of the experimental data to evaluate the thermal contact conductance. Fin-tube heat exchangers employed in the current research are of tube diameter of 7 mm with different tube expansion ratios, fin spacings, and fin types. The results of the present study imply that these parameters as well as hydrophilic fin coating have a significant effect on the thermal contact conductance. It has been discovered that the portion of the thermal contact resistance is not negligible compared with the total thermal resistance in a fin-tube heat exchanger, and this means that in order to reduce the thermal contact resistance thoughtful care should be taken in fabricating heat exchangers.     

Correction of logarithmic mean temperature difference in a compact brazed plate evaporator assuming heat flux governed flow boiling heat transfer coefficient

The heat transfer in heat exchangers is commonly calculated using the concept of Logarithmic Mean Temperature Difference (LMTD). As is well known this approach is only valid for counter-current and co-current heat exchanger configurations. For other configurations, corrections for the deviation from pure counter-current are introduced. From any standard text book in heat transfer it may be found that the LMTD approach may also be used if condensation and evaporation occurs in the heat exchanger. The purpose of the present paper is to investigate if the LMTD approach can be used in a compact brazed plate evaporator. It will be shown through integration of the governing equations that the LMTD approach indeed may be used for practical cases, even though deviations occur at small logarithmic mean temperature differences. The article presents suggestions on the correction factor (F) needed under some simplified assumptions in a compact brazed plate heat exchanger operating as an evaporator for heat pump and refrigeration applications.     

Measurement and prediction of evaporator shell-side pressure drop

The pressure drop across a heat exchanger is an important parameter, along with the heat transfer capacity. In fact, the operating cost throughout the life of the exchanger depends on the pressure losses. Therefore, it is important to be able to predict pressure drop accurately as it is to predict heat transfer.A new data set of shell-side pressure drop measurements taken during isothermal flow of brines in shell and tube evaporators was collected in the Alfa Laval laboratory. It covers several different configurations of industrial shell and tube evaporators and a wide range of operating conditions, with cross flow Reynolds number ranging from 170 to 33,000.The database is compared against two predictive procedures available in the literature for computing shell-side pressure drop, showing that no method is accurate enough for design purpose.As a further step, a new suggested procedure is presented, which extends the Wills and Johnston [Wills MJN, Johnston D. A new and accurate hand calculation method for shellside pressure drop and flow distribution. 22nd National Heat Transfer Conference, HTD N. 36. New York: ASME; 1984, p. 67–79] method to the low Reynolds number range and improve its capability to predict experimental data.     

The performance of a transcritical CO2 cycle with an internal heat exchanger for hot water heating

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of a transcritical CO₂ cycle with an internal heat exchanger for hot water heating. Performance test and simulation have been carried out for a transcritical CO₂ cycle by varying secondary heat transfer fluid temperatures at evaporator and gas-cooler inlets as well as the discharge pressure. Variations of mass flow rate of refrigerant, compressor power, heating capacity, and co-efficient of performance (COP) with respect to the length of an internal heat exchanger are presented at various operating conditions. Good quantitative agreement between model predictions and experimental results has been found; most parameters have absolute average deviations of less than 4%. As the length of the internal heat exchanger increases, COP is enhanced but heating capacity tends to decrease due to the trade-offs between the effectiveness and pressure drop in the internal heat exchanger.     

An experimental investigation of refrigerant mixture R32/R290 as drop-in replacement for HFC410A in household air conditioners

In the present paper, the refrigerant mixture R32/R290 (68%/32% by weight) is investigated as the drop-in replacement for R410A in household air conditioners. The GWP of it is only 22% of that of R410A. Theoretical and experimental investigations are conducted on the performance of the air conditioners working with both R32/R290 and R410A. Experimental results show that the refrigerant charge amount of R32/R290 is reduced by 30.0%–35.0%; the cooling and heating capacities are increased by 14.0%–23.7%. For further reducing charge amount and flammability, the micro-channel heat exchanger (condenser) is employed to replace the finned tube one. Compared with the R32/R290 system using finned tube heat exchanger, the R32/R290 charge amount and the power consumption are reduced by 34.1% and 0.4%, respectively; the cooling capacity and the COP are increased by 6.4% and 6.8%, respectively.     

Modélisation de l'efficacité de filtration d'un échangeur cyclone

This work is a modelling of the Aireco® filtration system. This heat exchanger, with particle catching capabilities, is made of a cyclonic body which contains refrigerated coils. The water vapour contained in the gas to be treated condensed on the coils surface. Our modelling considers two main capture surfaces: the entry zone in which particles are collected by inertial impaction and the cyclonic body in which particles diffused by centrifugal force is the main phenomena. We found that these considerations explain our experimental results with an accuracy more than 90%, when the Aireco® is on a normal point of working.     

Friction factor correlation and pressure loss of single-phase flow inside herringbone microfin tubes

Pressure drop of single-phase turbulent flow inside herringbone microfin tubes of different fin dimensions has been measured experimentally to develop a general correlation of single-phase friction factor for the herringbone tubes. Water has been used as a working fluid and the mass flow rate has been varied from 0.03 to 0.2 kg/s, where the Reynolds number range is 10⁴ to 6.5 × 10⁴. Comparison of experimental data of the herringbone microfin tubes with those of helical microfin and smooth tubes shows that pressure drop of the herringbone tube is significantly higher than the helical and smooth tubes depending on the fin geometric parameters and mass velocity of the working fluid. Through semi-analytical approach and using the present experimental data, a new correlation of single-phase friction factor for the herringbone microfin tubes has been proposed incorporating the effects of fin geometric parameters. The proposed correlation can predict the experimental data within ±10%.     

Experimental thermal performance study of an inclined heat pipe heat exchanger operating in high humid tropical HVAC systems

In an earlier paper [Y.H. Yau, Application of a heat pipe heat exchanger to dehumidification enhancement in tropical HVAC systems – a baseline performance characteristics study, International Journal of Thermal Sciences 46 (2) (2007) 164–171], the author had established the baseline performance characteristics of the eight-row wickless heat pipe heat exchanger (HPHX) for a vertical configuration under a range of conditions appropriate for a tropical climate. Now, the same basic experimental set-up was to be used in the present research with the HPHX tilted 30°. In this configuration, the gravitational force would be expected to enhance drainage of any condensation forming on the extended fin surfaces of the HPHX evaporator section, and therefore, the effectiveness of the HPHX could be anticipated to be better than the vertical configuration, particularly when processing inlet air with high RH. The investigation has been carried out for 32 experiments with typically high RH and the results are presented in this paper. The results suggested that the possibly adverse influence of condensate forming on the fins of the HPHX was negligible, and therefore the HPHX in a typically-used vertical configuration could perform equally as well as it would if the HPHX was installed in an inclined position.