A comparative analysis of heat transfer in extended surfaces with and without holes

Abstract

The current fin industries are working with a prime goal to reduce the overall dimensions of the fins with enhancement of the heat transfer rate per unit weight of the fins. To meet the industrial demands it has become mandatory to optimize the shape and the size of the conventional fin systems. Introduction of an extended surface on a heated plate does not always ensures increased rate of heat transfer to the surroundings. An effective utilization of the wetted surface area is major factor in this perspective. Use of fins with different configurations of holes, over a heated surface is found to have very less effect on the average convective heat flux. However, with the considered system of holes, the weight of the fins can be hugely reduced without much lowering of the outlet convective heat flux. With air as the working fluid, a 3-D system of aluminum fins has been numerically modeled in the present work, simulating a conduction-convection scenario.