Comparative Analysis of Longitudinal Vortex Generators and Louvered Fins in Enhancing Thermal Performance in Compact Heat Exchangers

Abstract

Compact heat exchangers equipped with flat tubes have traditionally been employed in automotive cooling systems. To augment thermal performance, louvered fins have been integrated on the air side. over recent decades, the efficacy of longitudinal vortex generators (LVG) in heat exchangers has been rigorously investigated, leading to the proposal of innovative designs characterized by their aerodynamic properties. In this study, a novel LVG design sourced from extant literature was juxtaposed against the conventional louvered fins. The shear-stress transport (SST) k-ω model was utilized to depict the turbulence. When the turbulent flow and heat transfer properties were assessed, distinct variations were observed between multiple rows of LVG and the louvered fins. Enhanced thermal performance, with a value reaching 1.3, was noted for configurations incorporating five rows of LVG arrangements at a Reynolds number of 8000. In contrast, the thermal performance of louvered fins was observed to wane with increasing Reynolds numbers, recording a performance measure of merely 1.08 at the aforementioned Reynolds number.