Comparisons of Flow Friction and Heat Transfer Performance in Rectangular Channels With Pin Fin-Dimple, Pin Fin and Dimple Arrays

Abstract

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the flow friction and heat transfer performance in rectangular channels with pin fin-dimple and pin fin arrays in the Reynolds number range of 8200–54000. The friction factor, average Nusselt number and the overall thermal performance parameters of the pin fin-dimple and the pin fin channels have been obtained and compared with the experimental data of a smooth rectangular channel and previously published data of a pin fin channel and a dimpled channel. The comparisons show that the pin fin-dimple channel has a better convective heat transfer performance, a lowered friction factor and a higher overall thermal performance than the pin fin channel. The comparisons also show that the pin fin-dimple channel has a significantly higher heat transfer performance and friction factor than the dimpled channel, however the former’s overall thermal performance becomes distinctively lower than the latter at a higher Reynolds number than 37000.