Finite circular fin method for wavy fin-and-tube heat exchangers under fully and partially wet surface conditions

Journal article

Authors/Editors

SOMCHAI WONGWISES

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Publication Details

Author list: Pirompugd W., Wang C.-C., Wongwises S.

Publisher: Elsevier

Publication year: 2008

Journal: International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer (0017-9310)

Volume number: 51

Issue number: 15-16

Start page: 4002

End page: 4017

Number of pages: 16

ISSN: 0017-9310

eISSN: 1879-2189

URL: https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-45649083415&doi=10.1016%2fj.ijheatmasstransfer.2007.11.049&partnerID=40&md5=e720c5ebb7f4f366d8f6e1b9d72235f2

Languages: English-Great Britain (EN-GB)

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Abstract

The present study proposes the finite circular fin method for analyzing the heat and mass transfer characteristics of wavy fin-and-tube heat exchangers under fully and partially wet surface conditions. The analysis is carried out by dividing the wavy fin-and-tube heat exchanger into many tiny segments. The tiny segments can be analyzed based on surface conditions, i.e. fully wet, fully dry or partially wet surface condition. From the experimental results, it is found that the heat and mass transfer characteristics are insensitive to the inlet relative humidity but the effect of relative humidity on mass transfer characteristic become more pronounced when the partially wet surface condition takes place. The heat transfer characteristic is independent of the fin spacing. Effect of fin spacing on mass transfer characteristic is small when fin spacing is larger than 2.5 mm. However, at smaller fin spacing, the mass transfer characteristic slightly decreases when the relative humidity increases. The ratios of hc,o/hd,oCp,a are in the range of 0.6-1.2. Correlations are proposed to describe the heat and mass transfer characteristics. These correlations can describe 95.63% of the heat transfer characteristic within 15% and 95.14% of the mass transfer characteristic within 20%. Correspondingly, 94.68% of the ratios of hc,o/hd,oCp,a are predicted by the proposed correlation within 20%.

Keywords

Finite circular fin method, Fully dry surface condition, Fully wet surface condition, Heat transfer characteristic, Mass transfer characteristic, Partially wet surface condition, Wavy fin-and-tube heat exchangers