The Air-Side Thermal-Hydraulic Performance of Flat-Tube Heat Exchangers With Louvered, Wavy, and Plain Fins Under Dry and Wet Conditions

2009 ◽  
Vol 131 (6) ◽  
Author(s):  
Young-Gil Park ◽  
Anthony M. Jacobi
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Hydraulic Performance ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Geometrical Parameters ◽  
Flat Tube ◽  
Parametric Effects ◽  
Dry And Wet Conditions ◽  
Wet Surface ◽  
Friction Performance

The air-side thermal-hydraulic performance of flat-tube aluminum heat exchangers is studied experimentally for conditions typical to air-conditioning applications, for heat exchangers constructed with serpentine louvered, wavy, and plain fins. Using a closed-loop calorimetric wind tunnel, heat transfer and pressure drop are measured at air face velocities from 0.5 m/s to 2.8 m/s for dry- and wet-surface conditions. Parametric effects related to geometry and operating conditions on heat transfer and friction performance of the heat exchangers are explored. Significant differences in the effect of geometrical parameters are found for dry and wet conditions. For the louver-fin geometry, using a combined database from the present and the previous studies, empirical curve-fits for the Colburn j- and f-factors are developed in terms of a wet-surface multiplier. The wet-surface multiplier correlations fit the present database with rms relative residuals of 21.1% and 24.4% for j and f multipliers, respectively. Alternatively, stand-alone Colburn j and f correlations give rms relative residuals of 22.7% and 29.1%, respectively.

Performance Evaluation of Heat Transfer Enhancement for Offset Strip Fins Used in Plate-Fin Heat Exchangers

2015 ◽  
Vol 137 (10) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yujie Yang ◽  
Yanzhong Li ◽  
Biao Si ◽  
Jieyu Zheng
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Transfer Enhancement ◽  
Entropy Generation ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Geometrical Parameters ◽  
Distribution Factor ◽  
Transfer Enhancement ◽  
Entropy Generation Number ◽  
Fin Thickness

In general, offset strip fin (OSF) used in plate-fin heat exchangers is able to provide a greater heat transfer coefficient than the plain fin with the same cross section, but it will also cause the increase of flow friction and pressure drop owing to the fin offset. A new parameter denoted by Ψ*, called relative entropy generation distribution factor, is proposed in this paper to comprehensively reflect the thermodynamic performance of different passage structures in plate-fin heat exchanger. This parameter physically represents relative changes of entropy generation and irreversibility, which are induced by both heat transfer and friction loss due to the utilization of OSF fins. The high magnitude of Ψ* represents a beneficial contribution of OSF with higher degree of the heat transfer enhancement. The proposed method is more reasonable and comprehensive than either the conventional augmentation entropy generation number, Ns,a, or the entropy generation distribution factor, ψ, to evaluate the heat transfer enhancement for OSF cores subject to various operating conditions. With the proposed method, the relative effects of the geometrical parameters of OSF fins, such as the fin thickness-to-height ratio α, fin density γ, and fin thickness-to-length ratio δ, on the heat transfer enhancement are discussed in detail. The results show that relatively small δ results in a better performance, while the parameter α or γ, which contribute to a higher degree of heat transfer enhancement of OSF fin, should be determined after the selection of the other two geometric parameters.

scholarly journals A MCDM Methodology to Determine the Most Critical Variables in the Pressure Drop and Heat Transfer in Minichannels

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (8) ◽  
pp. 2069
Author(s):  
Eloy Hontoria ◽  
Alejandro López-Belchí ◽  
Nolberto Munier ◽  
Francisco Vera-García
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Saturation Pressure ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Urban Systems ◽  
Condensation Process ◽  
Geometrical Parameters ◽  
Maximum Heat ◽  
Maximum Heat Transfer

This paper proposes a methodology aiming at determining the most influent working variables and geometrical parameters over the pressure drop and heat transfer during the condensation process of several refrigerant gases using heat exchangers with pipes mini channels technology. A multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) methodology was used; this MCDM includes a mathematical method called SIMUS (Sequential Interactive Modelling for Urban Systems) that was applied to the results of 2543 tests obtained by using a designed refrigeration rig in which five different refrigerants (R32, R134a, R290, R410A and R1234yf) and two different tube geometries were tested. This methodology allows us to reduce the computational cost compared to the use of neural networks or other model development systems. This research shows six variables out of 39 that better define simultaneously the minimum pressure drop, as well as the maximum heat transfer, saturation pressure fluid entering the condenser being the most important one. Another aim of this research was to highlight a new methodology based on operation research for their application to improve the heat transfer energy efficiency and reduce the CO2 footprint derived of the use of heat exchangers with minichannels.

Single-Phase Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop of Water Cooled Inside Horizontal Smooth Tubes in the Transitional Flow Regime

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josua P. Meyer ◽  
Leon Liebenberg ◽  
Jonathan A. Olivier
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Reynolds Number ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Transition Region ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Transitional Flow ◽  
Working Fluid ◽  
Tube Heat Exchanger ◽  
Smooth Tubes

Heat exchangers are usually designed in such a way that they do not operate in the transition region. This is usually due to a lack of information in this region. However, due to design constraints, energy efficiency requirements or change of operating conditions, heat exchangers are often forced to operate in this region. It is also well known that entrance disturbances influence where transition occurs. The purpose of this paper is to present experimental heat transfer and pressure drop data in the transition region for fully developed and developing flows inside smooth tubes using water as the working fluid. The use of different inlet disturbances were used to investigate its effect on transition. A tube-in-tube heat exchanger was used to perform the experiments, which ranged in Reynolds numbers from 1 000 to 20 000, with Prandtl numbers being between 4 and 6 while Grashof numbers were in the order of 105. Results showed that the type of inlet disturbance could delay transition to a Reynolds number as high as 7 000, while other inlets expedited it, confirming results of others. For heat transfer, though, it was found that transition was independent of the inlet disturbance and all commenced at the same Reynolds number, 2 000–3 000, which was attributed to secondary flow effects.

scholarly journals Multi-Scale CFD Modeling of Plate Heat Exchangers Including Offset-Strip Fins and Dimple-Type Turbulators for Automotive Applications

Energies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (15) ◽  
pp. 2965 ◽  
Author(s):  
Augusto Della Torre ◽  
Gianluca Montenegro ◽  
Angelo Onorati ◽  
Sumit Khadilkar ◽  
Roberto Icarelli
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Fluid Dynamics ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Internal Combustion Engines ◽  
Cfd Simulation ◽  
Full Scale ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Plate Heat ◽  
Multi Scale ◽  
Macro Scale

Plate heat exchangers including offset-strip fins or dimple-type turbulators have a wide application in the automotive field as oil coolers for internal combustion engines and transmissions. Their optimization is a complex task since it requires targeting different objectives: High compactness, low pressure drop and high heat-transfer efficiency. In this context, the availability of accurate Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation models plays an important role during the design phase. In this work, the development of a computational framework for the CFD simulation of compact oil-to-liquid heat exchangers, including offset-strip fins and dimples, is presented. The paper addresses the modeling problem at different scales, ranging from the characteristic size of the turbulator geometry (typically µm–mm) to the full scale of the overall device (typically cm–dm). The simulation framework is based on multi-scale concept, which applies: (a) Detailed simulations for the characterization of the micro-scale properties of the turbulator, (b) an upscaling approach to derive suitable macro-scale models for the turbulators and (c) full-scale simulations of the entire cooler, including the porous models derived for the smaller scales. The model is validated comparing with experimental data under different operating conditions. Then, it is adopted to investigate the details of the fluid dynamics and heat-transfer process, providing guidelines for the optimization of the device.

The Effect of Geometrical Features on Air-Side Heat Transfer and Friction Characteristics, and Optimization of a Large-Size Plain Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger by 3-D Numerical Simulation

2009 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Izadi ◽  
D. K. Aidun ◽  
P. Marzocca ◽  
H. Lee
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Numerical Modeling ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Simple Algorithm ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Friction Characteristics ◽  
Tube Heat Exchanger ◽  
Large Size ◽  
Geometrical Features

The effect of geometrical features on the air-side heat transfer and friction characteristics of an industrial plain fin-and-tube heat exchanger is investigated by 3-D numerical modeling and simulations. The heat exchanger has been designed and employed as an intercooler in a gas power plant and is a large-size compact heat exchanger. Most of the available design correlations developed so far for plain fin–and–tube heat exchangers have been prepared for small-size exchangers and none of them fits completely to the current heat exchanger regarding the geometrical limitations of correlations. It is shown that neglecting these limitations and applying improper correlations may generate considerable amount of error in the design of such a large-size heat exchanger. The geometry required for numerical modeling is produced by Gambit® software and the boundary conditions are defined regarding the real operating conditions. Then, three-dimensional simulations based on the SIMPLE algorithm in laminar flow regime are performed by FLUENT™ code. The effect of fin pitch, tube pitch, and tube diameter on the thermo-hydraulic behavior of the heat exchanger is studied. Some variations in the design of the heat exchanger are suggested for optimization purposes. It is finally concluded that the current numerical model is a powerful tool to design and optimize of large-size plain fin-and-tube heat exchangers with acceptable accuracy.

An Experimental Investigation of Convective Heat Transfer From Wire-On-Tube Heat Exchangers

1997 ◽  
Vol 119 (2) ◽  
pp. 348-356 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. L. Hoke ◽  
A. M. Clausing ◽  
T. D. Swofford
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Experimental Investigation ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer ◽  
Convective Heat ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Steel Wire ◽  
Convective Heat Transfer Coefficient ◽  
Wire Diameter ◽  
Forced Flow ◽  
Geometrical Parameters

An experimental investigation of the air-side convective heat transfer from wire-on-tube heat exchangers is described. The study is motivated by the desire to predict the performance, in a forced flow, of the steel wire-on-tube condensers used in most refrigerators. Previous investigations of wire-on-tube heat exchangers in a forced flow have not been reported in the literature. The many geometrical parameters (wire diameter, tube diameter, wire pitch, tube pitch, etc.), the complex conductive paths in the heat exchanger, and the importance of buoyant forces in a portion of the velocity regime of interest make the study a formidable one. A key to the successful correlation of the experimental results is a definition of the convective heat transfer coefficient, hw, that accounts for the temperature gradients in the wires as well as the vast difference in the two key characteristic lengths—the tube and wire diameters. Although this definition results in the need to solve a transcendental equation in order to obtain hw from the experimental data, the use of the resulting empirical correlation is straightforward. The complex influence of the mixed convection regime on the heat transfer from wire-on-tube heat exchangers is shown, as well as the effects of air velocity and the angle of attack. The study covers a velocity range of 0 to 2 m/s (the Reynolds number based on wire diameter extends to 200) and angles of attack varying from 0 deg (horizontal coils) to ±90 deg. Heat transfer data from seven different wire-on-tube heat exchangers are correlated so that 95 percent of the data below a Richardson number of 0.004, based on the wire diameter, lie within ±16.7 percent of the proposed correlation.

Impact of an Anisotropic Fin Surface Design on the Thermal-Hydraulic Performance of a Plain-Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong Yu ◽  
Andrew D. Sommers ◽  
Nicole C. Okamoto ◽  
Koushik Upadhyayula
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Hydraulic Performance ◽  
Normal Operation ◽  
Surface Design ◽  
Tube Heat Exchanger ◽  
Silane Coating ◽  
Side Pressure

In this study, we have explored the effectiveness of heat exchangers constructed using anisotropic, micro-patterned aluminum fins to more completely drain the condensate that forms on the heat transfer surface during normal operation with the aim of improving the thermal-hydraulic performance of the heat exchanger. This study presents and critically evaluates the efficacy of full-scale heat exchangers constructed from these micro-grooved surfaces by measuring dry/wet air-side pressure drop and dry/wet air-side heat transfer data. The new fin surface design was shown to decrease the core pressure drop of the heat exchanger during wet operation from 9.3% to 52.7%. Furthermore, these prototype fin surfaces were shown to have a negligible effect on the heat transfer coefficient under both dry and wet conditions while at the same time reducing the wet airside pressure drop thereby decreasing fan power consumption. That is to say, this novel fin surface design has shown the ability, through improved condensate management, to enhance the thermal-hydraulic performance of plain-fin-and-tube heat exchangers used in air-conditioning applications. This paper also presents data pertaining to the durability of the alkyl silane coating.

Numerical Investigation of Heat Transfer Characteristics of Different Nanoparticles Using Modified Eulerian-Eulerian Model

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Muzafar Hussain ◽  
Shahbaz Tahir
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Experimental Data ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Single Phase ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Phase Model ◽  
Heat Transfer Characteristics ◽  
Eulerian Model ◽  
Transfer Characteristics

Abstract Nanofluids are widely adopted nowadays to enhance the heat transfer characteristics in the solar applications because of their excellent thermophysical properties. In this paper, a modified Eulerian-Eulerian model recently developed based on experiments was validated numerically to account for the deviations from the experimental data. The modified Eulerian-Eulerian model is compared with the single-phase model, Eulerian-Eulerian models for TiO2-water at different operating conditions and deviation from the experimental data for each of the model was documented. However, the modified Eulerian-Eulerian model gave much closer results when compared to the experimental data. For the further extension of work, the modified Eulerian-Eulerian model was applied to different nanofluids in order to investigate their heat transfer characteristics. Three different nanoparticles were investigated namely Cu, MgO, and Ag and their heat transfer characteristics is calculated based on the modified Eulerian-Eulerian model as well as the single-phase model for the comparison. For lower values of Reynolds numbers, the average heat transfer coefficient was almost identical for both models with small percentage of error but for higher Reynolds numbers, the deviation got larger. Therefore, single-phase model is not appropriate for higher Reynolds numbers and modified Eulerian-Eulerian model should be used to accurately predict the heat transfer characteristics of the nanofluids at higher Reynolds numbers. From the analysis it is found that the Ag-water nanofluid have the highest heat transfer characteristics among others and can be employed in the solar heat exchangers to enhance the heat transfer characteristics and to further improve the efficiency.

Thermal–Hydraulic Performance Analysis of a Convergent Double Pipe Heat Exchanger

2019 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmed T. Al-Sammarraie ◽  
Kambiz Vafai
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Hydraulic Performance ◽  
Operating Conditions ◽  
Contraction Ratio ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Prandtl Numbers ◽  
Double Pipe ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pipe Heat

The present investigation proposes an innovative convergent double pipe heat exchanger (C-DPHE). A two-dimensional (2D) axisymmetric heat transfer model with counterflow is employed to analyze the thermal and hydraulic performance of this configuration numerically. The impact of convergence in the flow direction, using a wide range of contraction ratio (Cr), is explored. The effect of Reynolds and Prandtl numbers on the flow and heat transfer is addressed, as well. The model results were validated with available data from the literature, and an excellent agreement has been confirmed. In general, the findings of the present study indicate that increasing the contraction ratio increases heat transfer and pressure drop in the C-DPHE. Moreover, this configuration has a prominent and sustainable performance, compared to a conventional double pipe heat exchanger (DPHE), with an enhancement in heat transfer rate up to 32% and performance factor (PF) higher than one. Another appealing merit for the C-DPHE is that it is quite effective and functional at low Reynolds and high Prandtl numbers, respectively, since no high-operating pumping power is required. Further, the optimal operating conditions can be established utilizing the comprehensive information provided in this work.

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