Performance analysis and effect of various material fin-perforations in a plate-finned heat exchanger

Abstract

Finding increasingly efficient heat exchangers requires a critical task: the development of fin profiles for prolonged life of equipment. The present study uses numerical analysis for better plate-finned heat exchangers hydraulic and thermal performance. Fin patterns are used in the analysis to evaluate a four-tube in-line heat exchanger. The proposed approach involves use of simulation and numerical methods to solve the heat transfer problem on different materials and wind velocity data as boundary conditions for improved heat transfer. The Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) model will be used to correct the average turbulent air flow over finned tubes in three dimensions using the ANSYS-Fluent software. The evaluation plan compares the current findings with published Nusselt number empirical correlations for the justification. Finally, the presentation of a parametric study on the impact of fin perforation size and shape on different materials and the behaviour of fluid dynamics and heat transfer. Larger fin perforation sizes (circular, rectangle, rhombus, and ellipse shapes) are found to enhance the heat exchangers' overall PEC and thermal efficiency for sustainability of the thermal equipment. The comparison was made between non-perforated and perforated fin types. Ultimately, it was determined that the best option for plate fin heat exchangers is the circular type perforated fin. When compared to without perforated fins, the circular type perforated fin has a higher heat transfer coefficient. A circular perforated fin has high performance, and the rhombus type perforated fin has lower performance.