Abstract
The thermal and hydraulic performance of ten radiator tubes has been investigated. The tubes tested are one smooth tube, two rib-roughened tubes, five dimpled tubes and two offset strip fin tubes. The tubes are representative of flat tube geometries applied in automotive heat exchangers, for example radiators. Isothermal pressure drop data were taken for Reynolds numbers in the range of 500–6000. These data are presented as Fanning friction factors and inlet loss coefficients. Heat transfer data were taken in the same Reynolds number range and the results are presented as Colburn j factors, as well as Nusselt numbers. The tubes are compared by considering the flow area goodness factor and the volume goodness factor. The rib-roughened tubes showed the best performance. The offset strip fin tube results could be correlated within 20% by correlations available in the literature. For all tubes, simple correlations of the results are provided.
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