Performance study of a fin and tube heat exchanger with different fin geometry

This study analyses the effect of different fin geometries on the heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics of a fin and tube heat exchanger. A numerical investigation is carried out on liquid–gas type double-finned tube heat exchanger under cross-flow condition. Three different cross-sections namely: a) Rectangular, b) Trapezoidal, c) Triangular are adopted to define the fin geometry. The CFD simulations are performed to incorporate coupled steady state conjugate heat transfer with the turbulent flow phenomenon for the Reynolds number in the range of 5000-13000. Dimensionless heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics such as Nusselt number, Euler number, and efficiency index are determined and utilized to compare the performance of different fin geometries. The results obtained from the models are verified using experimentally developed correlations. The results obtained from the numerical models show that triangular fin geometry can provide higher heat transfer performance in comparison to the fins with rectangular and trapezoidal geometry with lower pressure loss and a bonus of 7.27% reduction in weight under similar operating conditions.