Performance of One- and Two-Row Tube and Plate Fin Heat Exchangers

Abstract

Heat exchangers consisting of finned tubes are commonly employed in air conditioning systems, air heaters, radiators, etc. Local measurements of mass transfer coefficients on fins, obtained by Saboya and Sparrow, are very nonuniform. In the present work, an experimental apparatus was set up to measure overall heat transfer coefficients for two-row tube and plate fin heat exchangers. The obtained results, together with Shepherd’s results for one-row exchangers, are used to transform the local mass transfer coefficients into local heat transfer coefficients. A numerical two-dimensional heat transfer analysis has been performed in order to obtain the temperature distribution and fin efficiency. The influences of the Reynolds number and fin material are also analyzed.

Numerical estimation of heat transfer characteristics for two-row plate-finned tube heat exchangers with experimental data

“…Thus, a more accurate prediction of the heat transfer coefficient can be an important work for the device of the high-performance heat exchangers. It is found in [8,9] that the predicted results of the average heat transfer coefficient agree with existing estimates [2,4,10] under the assumption of the ideal isothermal fin. Thus, that the inverse scheme proposed by Chen and Hsu [8] and Chen and Lai [9] has good reliability.…”

“…Thus, this study applies FLUENT [13] with the two different flow models and appropriate grid points to obtain the heat transfer and fluid flow characteristics of staggered plate-fin and tube heat exchangers with four circular tubes. In order to verify the availability and accuracy of the obtained estimates, the resulting heat transfer coefficient are compared with those given by Rosman et al [2], Saboya and Saboya [4], Huang et al [6] and Chen and Lai [9]. The resulting fin temperature is also compared with the experimental temperature data at the selected measurement locations.…”

“…Later, Rocha et al [3] and Saboya and Saboya [4] also used the naphthalene sublimation technique and heat-mass analogy to determine the local and global heat and mass transfer coefficients for the elliptical and circular sections in one-and two-row tubes and plate fin heat exchangers. Huang et al [5,6] applied the steepest descent method and a general purpose commercial code CFX4.4 to determine the local heat transfer coefficient for the plate finned-tube heat exchangers However, their estimated results do not compare with those proposed by Rosman et al [2] and Saboya and Saboya [4]. Chen et al [7], Chen and Hsu [8] and Chen and Lai [9] respectively applied the inverse method of finite difference method in conjunction with the least squares method and the experimental temperature data to estimate the heat transfer characteristics on the fins of the plate finned-tube heat exchanger having a single tube and four tubes in staggered arrangement, respectively.…”

“…The above phenomenon may lead to local changes in the heat transfer coefficient on the fins. Sparrow and Samie [1] and Rosman et al [2] applied the experimental method in conjunction with the heat-mass transfer analogy to determine the local and average heat transfer coefficients for plate fin and tube heat exchangers.…”

Effect of geometrical parameters on heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of plate fin and tube heat exchangers

“…Webb [6] reported that elliptical tubes have better performance than circular tubes. Determination of local and overall heat transfer coefficients is conducted by Rosman et al [7]. Rocha et al [8] analyzed plate fin heat exchangers with circular and elliptical tubes and determined heat transfer coefficients, experimentally.…”