Experimental Investigation of Flat Tube-Louver Fin Heat Exchanger Performance Working as a Cooler in Dry and Wet Conditions

2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahil Popli ◽  
Yunho Hwang ◽  
Reinhard Radermacher
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Water Flow Rate ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Water Cooling ◽  
Air Velocity ◽  
Flat Tube ◽  
Side Pressure ◽  
Dry And Wet Conditions

An experimental study has been conducted to evaluate the performance of a flat-tube louver-fin heat exchanger working as a cooler, with frontal area of 0.25 m2 in both dry and wet conditions. Deluge water cooling at different flow rates was achieved by incorporating perforated tube-type distributor on top of the heat exchanger. Water at 35°C temperature was used as heat transfer fluid at cooler inlet. Ambient air and deluge cooling water were both maintained at 22°C temperature. Heat exchanger capacity and air-side pressure drop were measured with the heat exchanger angle set at 0° and 21° from vertical, with a frontal air velocity of 1.4 m/s and 3.5 m/s without deluge water cooling, and a frontal air velocity of 1.2 m/s, 1.4 m/s with deluge water cooling. Significant capacity enhancement could be obtained both with the use of deluge water cooling and with the heat exchanger angle set at 21° from vertical. Furthermore, it was found that approximately same capacity was obtained at both 0° and 21° angle when wetting water flow rate was reduced from 0.17 kg/s to 0.063 kg/s, without significant reduction in air-side pressure drop. This study highlights the importance of wetting of heat transfer surfaces of compact flat tube heat exchangers and provides motivation for further research in this area.

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.

Simulation Investigation on Multi-Unit Parallel-Flow Type Condenser with Flat Tubes Distribution

2013 ◽  
Vol 423-426 ◽  
pp. 1910-1913
Author(s):  
Jian Rong Du ◽  
Zu Yi Zheng ◽  
Jun Hua Wan ◽  
Yi De Wang ◽  
Zhong Min Wan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Heat Transfer Performance ◽  
Transfer Performance ◽  
Air Velocity ◽  
Flat Tube ◽  
Tube Arrangement ◽  
First Pass ◽  
Flat Tubes

Three heat exchangers, all of which have 38 tubes in total and 6 passes, with different tube arrangements were simulation investigated in laboratory. The effect of flat tube distribution on heat transfer performance and pressure drop characteristic was simulation investigated. The effect of different air velocity and flow on heat transfer performance and pressure drop characteristic was simulation investigated too. The results show that similar tube distribution has little effect on heat transfer but has great effect on pressure drop. It was found the tube arrangement from first pass to sixth pass is 10,9,6,5,4,4 has the best heat transfer performance and its pressure drop is small. The heat transfer and pressure drop increase with the air velocity and refrigerant flow.

scholarly journals Experimental Study on the Heat Transfer Characteristics of the Enhanced Fin-Tube Heat Exchanger Applied a Coiled Turbulator

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sun-Joon Byun ◽  
Sang-Jae Lee ◽  
Jae-Min Cha ◽  
Zhen-Huan Wang ◽  
Young-Chul Kwon
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Water Flow ◽  
Flow Rate ◽  
Heat Transfer Performance ◽  
Water Flow Rate ◽  
Transfer Performance ◽  
Tube Heat Exchanger ◽  
Fin Tube

This study presents the comparison of heat transfer capacity and pressure drop characteristics between a basic fin-tube heat exchanger and a modified heat exchanger with the structural change of branch tubes and coiled turbulators. All experiments were carried out using an air-enthalpy type calorimeter based on the method described in ASHRAE standards, under heat exchanger experimental conditions. 14 different kinds of heat exchangers were used for the experiment. Cooling and heating capacities of the turbulator heat exchanger were excellent, compared to the basic one. As the insertion ratio of the coiled turbulator and the number of row increased, the heat transfer performance increased. However, the capacity per unit area was more effective in 4 rows than 6 rows, and the cooling performance of the 6 row turbulator heat exchanger (100% turbulator insert ratio) was down to about 6% than that of 4 row one. As the water flow rate and the turbulator insertion ratio increased, the pressure drop of the water side increased. This trend was more pronounced in 6 rows. In the cooling condition, the pressure drop on the air side was slightly increased due to the generation of condensed water, but was insignificant under the heating condition. The power consumption of the pump was more affected by the water flow rate than the coiled turbulator. The equivalent hydraulic diameter of a tube by the turbulator was reduced and then the heat transfer performance was improved. Thus, the tube diameter was smaller, the heat flux was better.

Experimental Investigation and Comparison on Fin Surfaces Performance of Flat Tube Heat Exchangers

2011 ◽  
Vol 354-355 ◽  
pp. 389-393 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jun Qi Dong ◽  
Qian Chen ◽  
Wu Jie Wei
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Experimental Study ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Transfer Enhancement ◽  
Air Velocity ◽  
Flat Tube ◽  
Louvered Fin ◽  
Performance Of Heat Transfer ◽  
Offset Strip Fin

An experimental study has been carried out to investigate the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of flat tube heat exchangers with plain, wavy, louvered and offset strip fin surfaces. Results are presented as plots of Colburn j factor and friction factor f against Reynolds in the range of 600-6500. Additionally, the dimensional heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop are presented as a function of frontal air velocity. Finally, two comparison methods are adopted to evaluate the air side performance of the plain fin, wavy fin, louvered fin and offset strip fin surface. The results show that the offset strip fin has the best performance of heat transfer enhancement.

Experimental Investigation on Multi-Unit Parallel-Flow Type Condenser with Flat Tubes Distribution

2014 ◽  
Vol 701-702 ◽  
pp. 1233-1236
Author(s):  
Lv Xian Zeng ◽  
Zu Yi Zheng ◽  
Jun Hua Wan ◽  
Xi Chen ◽  
Zhong Min Wan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Heat Transfer Performance ◽  
Transfer Performance ◽  
Air Velocity ◽  
Flat Tube ◽  
The Third ◽  
Flat Tubes ◽  
Simulation Results

Three heat exchangers, all of which have 38 tubes in total and 6 passes, with different tube arrangements were manufactured to be experimental investigated in laboratory. The effect of flat tube distribution on heat transfer performance and pressure drop characteristic was experimental investigated. The effect of different air velocity and flow on heat transfer performance and pressure drop characteristic was also experimental investigated. The results show that similar tube distribution has little effect on heat transfer quality but has great effect on pressure drop. It was found the third arrangement has the best heat transfer and its pressure drop is small. Thus the third arrangement is the best solution. The heat transfer and pressure drop increase with the air velocity and refrigerant flow, so a proper value should be chosen, it was found that the simulation results were mainly agreement with the experimental results.

Air-Side Heat Transfer Performance of Louver Fin and Multitube Heat Exchanger for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell Cooling Application

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hie Chan Kang ◽  
Hyejung Cho ◽  
Jin Ho Kim ◽  
Anthony M. Jacobi
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Direct Methanol Fuel Cell ◽  
Heat Transfer Performance ◽  
Transfer Performance ◽  
Side Pressure ◽  
Direct Methanol ◽  
Methanol Fuel Cell

The present work is performed to evaluate the heat transfer performance of a heat exchanger used in a direct methanol fuel cell. Because of material constraints and performance requirements, a louver fin heat exchanger is modified for use with conventional microchannel tubes and also with multiple small-diameter tubes (called multitubes). Prototype heat exchangers are tested, and the air-side heat transfer, pressure drop, and fan power are measured in a wind tunnel and simulated using a commercial code. The air-side pressure drop and heat transfer coefficient of the multitubes show similar trends to those of the flat-tube heat exchanger if the contact resistance is negligible. The tube spacing of the prototype multitube heat exchangers has a small effect on the pressure drop and heat transfer, but it has a profound effect on the air-side heat transfer performance because of the contact resistance between the tubes and louver fins. The air-side pressure drop agrees well with an empirical correlation for flat tubes.

scholarly journals Study of heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of air heat exchanger using PCM for free cooling applications

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (5) ◽  
pp. 1543-1554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sivakumar Kalaiselvam ◽  
Kanchipuram Sureshkumar ◽  
Vijeykishoor Sriram
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Heat Exchanger ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Phase Change Materials ◽  
Thermal Characteristics ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Dynamics Modeling ◽  
Tube Heat Exchanger ◽  
High Heat Transfer ◽  
Free Cooling

Free cooling is the process of storing the cool energy available in the night ambient air and using it during the day. The heat exchanger used in this work is a modular type which is similar to the shell and tube heat exchanger. The shell side is filled with Phase Change Materials (PCM) and air flow is through the tubes in the module. The modules of the heat exchanger are arranged one over other with air spacers in between each module. The air space provided in between the module in-creases the retention time of the air for better heat transfer. Transient Computational Fluid Dynamics modeling is carried out for single air passage in a modular heat exchanger. It shows that the PCM phase transition time in the module in which different shape of fins is adopted. The module with rectangular fins has 17.2 % reduction in solidification compared with the plain module. Then steady state numerical analysis is accomplished to the whole module having the fin of high heat transfer, so that pressure drop, flow and thermal characteristics across the module and the air spacers are deter-mined for various air inlet velocities of 0.4 to 1.6 m/s. To validate the computational results, experiments are carried out and the agreement was found to be good.

Air-Side Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Characteristics of Multi-Louver Fin and Flat Tube Heat Exchangers

2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Man-Hoe Kim ◽  
Clark W. Bullard
Keyword(s):  
Heat Transfer ◽  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Heat Exchangers ◽  
Water Flow Rate ◽  
Cross Flow ◽  
Reynolds Numbers ◽  
Flat Tube ◽  
Louvered Fin ◽  
Flow Heat ◽  
Fanning Friction Factor

Abstract An experimental study on the air-side heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics for multi-louvered fin and flat tube heat exchangers has been performed. For 45 heat exchangers with different louver angles (15–29°), fin pitches (1.0, 1.2, 1.4 mm) and flow depths (16, 20, 24 mm), a series of tests were conducted for the air-side Reynolds numbers of 100–600, at a constant tube-side water flow rate of 0.32 m3/h. The inlet temperatures of the air and water for heat exchangers were 21°C and 45°C, respectively. The air-side thermal performance data were analyzed using effectiveness-NTU method for cross-flow heat exchanger with both fluids unmixed. The heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop data for heat exchangers with different geometrical configurations were reported in terms of Colburn j-factor and Fanning friction factor f, as functions of Reynolds number based on louver pitch. Correlations for j and f factors are developed and compared to other correlations.

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