Convective heat transfer of a single annually finned-tube condenser

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the thermal and flow characteristics of a single annually finned-tube condenser. The velocity and the temperature field inside the fin channel are revealed. Changes of the heat transfer and the flow resistance for typical fin configurations are analyzed. The optimal combinations of the fin dimension in terms of the enhancement of heat transfer are suggested. Design/methodology/approach – The problem has been numerically investigated with the FLUENT software. K-ɛ model is applied in the solution of the turbulent cases. The local and the average feature of the thermal performance and the friction factor are determined. Furthermore, the effect of the fin spacing, the fin height, and the fin thickness on the heat transfer and the flow resistance are verified. Findings – The numerical results reveal that the fin spacing is the most influential factor of all fin dimensions not only to the heat transfer but also to the flow resistance. Both the heat transfer and the flow resistance are compared with those related data available in the public literature. On the other hand, the fin height and the fin thickness affect the heat transfer of the condenser in a much less significant way in comparison to that of the fin spacing. Originality/value – This paper provides some meaningful information of the fin-dimensional effect on the heat transfer and the flow resistance for a single finned tube condenser. For such kind of heat exchanger, the heat transfer coefficient, the friction factor, and the heat transfer amount per unit length tube are all important to describe the performance feature.