Heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of fin-and-tube heat exchangers having sine wave fins and oval tubes were investigated. Oval tubes having an aspect ratio of 0.6 were made, by deforming 12.7 mm round tubes. Twelve samples, having different fin pitch and tube row, were tested. The effect of fin pitch on the j and f factors was negligible. The effect of the tube row on the j factor, however, was different from that of common fin-and-tube heat exchangers having plain fins and round tubes. The highest j factor was obtained for a two-row configuration, while the lowest one was obtained for a one-row configuration. A possible reason was attributed to the flow mixing characteristics of the sine wave channel of the present geometry. Comparison with a plain fin-and-tube heat exchanger having 15.88 mm O. D. round tube reveals that the present oval fin-and-tube heat exchanger shows generally superior thermal performance, except for the one-row configuration.
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