As an important consideration in the design of plate-fin heat exchangers, the selection of plate-fin surfaces is associated with the estimation of the fin performance in many cases. The fin performance of offset strip fin (OSF) and plain fin is numerically investigated with well-validated 3D models in the present study. The comparative analysis shows that the conventional fin efficiency and fin effectiveness concepts provide an incomplete assessment of the fin performance of the fins, and lead to impractical suggestions of using OSF fin. Further investigation indicates that the idealization of uniform heat transfer coefficient over all the surfaces in fin channel, which runs through the conventional concepts, is untenable, and strongly restricts the fin performance analysis. An actual fin effectiveness is then proposed to measure the fin performance. It physically represents the ratio of the heat flux over the fin surfaces and that over the primary surfaces in the fin channel. With this method, the effects of the geometrical parameters of the OSF are discussed carefully. The results show that there exists a specific fin thickness-to-height ratio α and fin density γ, which contribute to the highest fin performance for a given mass flux, and the optimal γ (or α) increases (or decreases) as mass flux increases. The OSF fins with relatively large fin thickness-to-length ratio δ perform better in low Re region and the optimum δ decreases with the increasing Re number.
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Analysis of the Fin Performance of Offset Strip Fins Used in Plate-Fin Heat Exchangers
Yujie Yang,
Yujie Yang
State Key Laboratory of Power Engineering and
Multiphase Flow,
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: yyj_898@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Multiphase Flow,
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: yyj_898@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Search for other works by this author on:
Yanzhong Li,
Yanzhong Li
State Key Laboratory of Power Engineering and
Multiphase Flow,
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: yzli-epe@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
Multiphase Flow,
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: yzli-epe@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
Search for other works by this author on:
Biao Si,
Biao Si
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: si.biao@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: si.biao@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Search for other works by this author on:
Jieyu Zheng,
Jieyu Zheng
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: zjy.521331@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: zjy.521331@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Search for other works by this author on:
Rui Kang
Rui Kang
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: kangrui996996@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: kangrui996996@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Search for other works by this author on:
Yujie Yang
State Key Laboratory of Power Engineering and
Multiphase Flow,
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: yyj_898@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Multiphase Flow,
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: yyj_898@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Yanzhong Li
State Key Laboratory of Power Engineering and
Multiphase Flow,
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: yzli-epe@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
Multiphase Flow,
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: yzli-epe@mail.xjtu.edu.cn
Biao Si
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: si.biao@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: si.biao@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Jieyu Zheng
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: zjy.521331@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: zjy.521331@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Rui Kang
Department of Refrigeration and
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: kangrui996996@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
Cryogenic Engineering,
School of Energy and Power Engineering,
Xi'an Jiaotong University,
Xi'an 710049, China
e-mail: kangrui996996@stu.xjtu.edu.cn
1Corresponding author.
Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division of ASME for publication in the JOURNAL OF HEAT TRANSFER. Manuscript received August 11, 2015; final manuscript received May 5, 2016; published online June 7, 2016. Assoc. Editor: Danesh / D. K. Tafti.
J. Heat Transfer. Oct 2016, 138(10): 101801 (9 pages)
Published Online: June 7, 2016
Article history
Received:
August 11, 2015
Revised:
May 5, 2016
Citation
Yang, Y., Li, Y., Si, B., Zheng, J., and Kang, R. (June 7, 2016). "Analysis of the Fin Performance of Offset Strip Fins Used in Plate-Fin Heat Exchangers." ASME. J. Heat Transfer. October 2016; 138(10): 101801. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4033615
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