Abstract
Numerical studies have been conducted to investigate the airside thermal-hydraulic characteristics of bare tube bank and plain finned tube heat exchangers intended for use in aero-engine cooling. The exchangers use small diameter tubes (3.0mm) with compact tube layout and operate at high temperatures with large temperature changes over the exchanger depth. Calculations are performed for frontal air velocities between 5 and 20m/s, yielding tube diameter based Reynolds numbers from 4898 to 19,592. Calculations are implemented using the Realizable k-ɛ turbulence model with consideration of the air physical property variations caused by the air temperature changes. The results show that ignorance of the air property variability leads to overestimations of both heat transfer and pressure loss, with a smaller air velocity yielding a more serious overestimation. The numerical fin efficiency agrees with the Schmidt fin efficiency within 7.0%. The plain finned tube heat exchanger is superior to the bare tube bank heat exchanger if the exchanger performance is evaluated using the heat transfer rate to pressure drop ratio.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.