An analytical study of the effect of dehumidification of air on the performance and optimization of straight tapered fins

Abstract

An analytical study of the performance and optimization of a cooling and dehumidifying straight taper longitudinal fin has been carried out. Expressions for temperature distribution and heat transfer of the fully wet fins have been determined. Fin effectiveness and fin efficiency for various thermo-geometric parameters have been calculated. The optimum dimensions of such types of fins are also estimated using the Lagrange multiplier technique. The analysis shows that the fin effectiveness and fin efficiency of a fin in the case of condensation are found to be smaller than those without condensation. However, the optimum aspect ratio of wet fin is found to be higher than the optimum dry fin with the identical thermo-physical and geometric parameters. Finally, comparative studies on different types of optimum straight taper wet fins with the same fin volume have also been made.