An experimental, computational and flow visualization study on the air-side thermal and hydraulic performance of louvered fin and round tube heat exchangers

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The aim of this study is to determine heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics in different louvered fin geometries for manufacturing of commercial louvered fin and round tube heat exchangers. Numerical simulations were carried out for various louver angles, louver lengths (pitches), fin pitches and frontal air velocities. The heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of the louvered fin and round tube heat exchangers, Colburn and friction factors, were respectively normalized with Colburn and friction factors of the flat plate fin and round tube heat exchangers operating under the same conditions and they were presented as the relative Colburn factor j∗ and the relative friction factor f∗. Thermal & hydraulic performance was presented as JF∗. Temperature and local Nusselt number contours, and streamline patterns were provided to reveal the mechanisms behind the heat transfer enhancement. Among different heat exchangers for which heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics were obtained, one was chosen to manufacture a real size heat exchanger. Flow visualization studies were also conducted with a PIV system in an open water channel to determine whether the flow structure is louvered directed or not. The louvered fin heat exchanger tested in the PIV system was a five times scaled up model of the real size louvered fin heat exchanger and made from a transparent plexiglas material. PIV results were presented and evaluated based on streamlines and velocity vectors. Furthermore, a numerical analysis was performed using exactly the same dimensions and conditions of the model tested in the PIV system. The comparison between numerical and experimental results was done to validate the numerical model. Consequently, the performance of the fabricated real size heat exchanger was tested at different air velocities in a wind tunnel in a conditioned room. The experimental results were compared with numerical analyses and found to be compatible with each other. Finally, thermal and hydraulic performance of the louvered fin and round tube heat exchanger was compared with a wavy fin and round tube heat exchanger with identical size and specifications. It was found that the thermal and hydraulic performance of the louvered fin and round tube heat exchanger is higher than that of the wavy fin and round tube heat exchanger. The Colburn factor j, friction factor f and JF of the louvered fin and round tube heat exchanger are higher about 16.8–7%, 19.9–8.2% and 10–4.3% than that of the wavy fin and round tube heat exchanger depending on the Reynolds number, respectively.