In this work, we focus exclusively on heat transfer enhancement techniques for the air-side heat transfer in air-cooled heat exchangers/condensers. An innovative dimpled fin configuration is explored. Experiments, in which both heat transfer and drag are measured, are conducted with flat tubes in three configurations: without fins, with plain fins and with dimpled fins. Reynolds numbers based on the hydraulic diameter of the finned passages are varied between 600 and 7000. Results indicate that fins are more advantageous at lower Reynolds numbers since the increase in drag at higher Reynolds numbers quickly erases any advantage due to an increase in heat transfer rate. As an example, for the plain fins versus a bare tube at a Reynolds number of 600, there is a 7 fold increase in heat transfer with only a 5 fold increase in drag. However, at a Reynolds number of 7000, both heat transfer and drag increase by approximately 6 times, indicating that the increase in drag has caught up with the heat transfer enhancement. Similarly, while dimpled fins do result in higher heat transfer compared with the plain fins, the advantage is also more prominent at lower Reynolds numbers where heat transfer enhancement is higher than the associated increase in pumping power.
Skip Nav Destination
ASME 2017 Heat Transfer Summer Conference
July 9–12, 2017
Bellevue, Washington, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Heat Transfer Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-5788-5
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Air-Side Heat Transfer Enhancement and Pumping Power Penalty in Air-Cooled Heat Exchangers With Dimpled Fins Available to Purchase
Tung X. Vu,
Tung X. Vu
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Search for other works by this author on:
Lokanath Mohanta,
Lokanath Mohanta
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Search for other works by this author on:
Vijay K. Dhir
Vijay K. Dhir
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Search for other works by this author on:
Tung X. Vu
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Lokanath Mohanta
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Vijay K. Dhir
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Paper No:
HT2017-4723, V001T09A002; 10 pages
Published Online:
October 18, 2017
Citation
Vu, TX, Mohanta, L, & Dhir, VK. "Air-Side Heat Transfer Enhancement and Pumping Power Penalty in Air-Cooled Heat Exchangers With Dimpled Fins." Proceedings of the ASME 2017 Heat Transfer Summer Conference. Volume 1: Aerospace Heat Transfer; Computational Heat Transfer; Education; Environmental Heat Transfer; Fire and Combustion Systems; Gas Turbine Heat Transfer; Heat Transfer in Electronic Equipment; Heat Transfer in Energy Systems. Bellevue, Washington, USA. July 9–12, 2017. V001T09A002. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/HT2017-4723
Download citation file:
52
Views
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Articles
A Bejan’s Constructal Theory Approach to the Overall Optimization of Heat Exchanging Finned Modules With Air in Forced Convection and Laminar Flow Condition
J. Heat Transfer (August,2009)
Comparison of Additively Manufactured Louvered Plate-Fin Heat Exchangers
J. Thermal Sci. Eng. Appl (February,2020)
Local Convective Behavior and Fin Efficiency in Shallow Banks of In-Line and Staggered, Annularly Finned Tubes
J. Heat Transfer (May,1996)
Related Chapters
Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Correlations for Compact Heat Exchangers with Multi-Region Louver Fins
Inaugural US-EU-China Thermophysics Conference-Renewable Energy 2009 (UECTC 2009 Proceedings)
Techniques to Reduce Exchanger or System Cost
Heat Exchanger Engineering Techniques
Engineering and Physical Modeling of Power Plant Cooling Systems
Thermal Power Plant Cooling: Context and Engineering