Local heat transfer and heat flux distributions in finned tube heat exchangers

A detailed analysis of the effect of local heat transfer distributions, which were determined experimentally, on temperature distributions in the fins and in the fluid between two adjacent fins of finned tube heat exchangers is presented. The heat transfer distributions, obtained by a mass transfer technique, prove to be very inhomogeneous over the fin surface, leading to variable results for fin efficiency calculated by the conventional method. In addition, the effect of temperature variation in the fluid, which is usually neglected in fin analysis, is shown in many cases to exert a very strong influence on fin efficiency and total heat flux. For the optimization of fin designs, a combined analysis of local heat transfer, conduction resistance in the fin and temperature variation in the passage is indispensable.