Heat transfer performances of cryogenic fluids in offset strip fin-channels considering the effect of fin efficiency

Abstract

This paper numerically explores the heat transfer behaviors of cryogenic fluids in offset strip fin (OSF) channels considering the important effect of fin efficiency that combines the factors of low thermal conductivity of fin material at cryogenic temperatures and the fin geometry. A series of numerical simulations, which involve three kinds of fin materials with different thermal conductivities and the cryogenic fluids including both gases and liquids of nitrogen, normal hydrogen and classic helium 4, are carried out with well-validated 3D models. The results show that lower thermal conductivity of solid material at cryogenic temperature causes a considerable reduction in heat transfer performance of OSF fins especially for the liquids with high Prandtl number. Further analysis of the results reveals that for different cryogenic fluids, Nusselt number is strongly related to Prandtl number and fin efficiency. In particular, Nusselt number is proportional to the Pr0.235ηf0.9 in laminar region, regardless of Reynolds number and fin geometries. The results for different fin geometries suggest that larger fin thickness-to-length ratio can help to improve the heat transfer performance, while smaller fin thickness-to-height ratio and higher fin density no longer contribute to higher j factor (or Nusselt number) of OSF fin, especially in the case of lower thermal conductivity of fin material. There exist optimum fin thickness-to-height ratio and fin density that correspond to the maximum value of j factor for the cryogenic fluids.