Film Condensation of HCFC-123 on In-Line Bundles of Horizontal Finned Tubes: Effect of Fin Geometry.

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Theoretical and experimental studies were performed to investigate the effect of fin geometry on the condensation of HCFC-123 on a horizontal finned tube. Approximate expressions of the heat transfer coefficient for a newly proposed high-performance fin was developed. Experiments were conducted to obtain row-by-row heat transfer data during condensation of downward-flowing HCFC-123 vapor in in-line bundles of horizontal two-dimensional fin tubes. Two conventional low-fin tubes and two finned tubes with fin shapes close to the newly proposed ones were tested. The highest heat transfer performance, about 85% higher than the conventional 26-fpi tube, was obtained using one of the new tubes. Predictions of the previously developed theoretical model compared well with experimental data for all the tubes at a low vapor velocity and a low to medium condensate inundation rate.