HEAT TRANSFER AND FRICTION CHARACTERISTICS OF FIN-AND-TUBE HEAT EXCHANGERS

An experimental study has been carried out to investigate the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of fin-and-tube exchangers with plate, wavy and louvered fin surfaces. In all, 36 samples of heat exchangers, including 12 plate-fin, 12 wavy-fin and 12 louvered-fin geometries, were tested. Results are presented as plots of friction factor f and Colburn j factor against Reynolds number in the range 300 to 2000. Finally, the various comparison methods were adopted to evaluate the air side performance of the plate, wavy and louver fin heat exchangers. Results show that for comparison using VG-1 criteria, about 40% surface area reduction was found for a lourver fin heat exchanger.