An experimental investigation on the airside performance of fin-and-tube heat exchangers having slit fins under wet condition

Abstract

In this study, the heat transfer and friction characteristics of the 5.3 mm O.D. slit-finned heat exchangers under wet condition have been experimentally investigated. Plain-finned heat exchangers having the same 5.3 mm O.D. tubes are also tested for comparison purpose. The effect of fin pitch on j and f factor is negligible. Slit fin samples yield higher j and f factors than plain fin samples. For one row configuration, the average f factor ratio between slit fin sample and plain fin sample is 2.18. The ratio increases to 2.41 for two row configuration, and to 2.65 for three row configuration. As for the j factor, the ratios are approximately the same (1.61, 1.70 and 1.71 for one, two and three row configuration). Both j and f factor increase as the number of tube row decreases. The same trend is observed for the plain fin samples. At high Reynolds numbers, the j/f ratios of the slit fin are approximately the same as those of the plain fin. At low Reynolds numbers, the j/f ratios of the slit fin are smaller than those of plain fin. Data are compared with existing correlations.