Abstract
Multirow plain fin-and-tube heat exchangers (PFTHEs) are widely encountered in industrial processes. The airflow between the interfin spaces generates three-dimensional vortical structures at fin–tube junctions which increase local flow mixing. In this paper, two-components PIV velocity measurements were used to investigate the flow characteristics in a model of a four-row staggered PFTHE at Reynolds number ReD=2000. For each row, the flow structure was analyzed in radial planes at the fin–tube junction in order to characterize the spatial evolution of the vortical structures around the tube. These vortical structures generated in the vicinity of fin–tube junctions were visualized by analyzing the velocity gradient tensor and their spatial evolution and dissipation was characterized. This study highlights the complexity of both row-by-row and angular evolutions of the flow structure. Significant vorticity concentration was found in the vicinity of fin–tube junctions, in the flow core where horseshoe vortices develop. The maximum primary vortex strength throughout the heat exchanger model is observed at the second fin–tube junction.
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