Airside performance of H-type finned tube banks with surface modifications

Abstract

The present study numerically investigates some novel modifications to augment the performance of the H-type finned tube banks, which are widely used in waste heat recovery in industries. The imposed modifications upon the original H-type finned tube banks include the following: (1) Design 1 contains some triangular cuts at the edge of the original rectangular fin; (2) Design 2 modifies the original rectangular geometry into a trapezoid shape; (3) Design 3 renders the original rectangular cross-section fin thickness into trapezoid cross-section; and (4) Design 4 changes the original rectangular shape into a circular shape. Based on the simulations, it is found that Design 1 shows barely any improvements in the heat transfer performance and surface area reduction. Design 2 can provide some weight saving and surface area reduction at a slightly inferior heat transfer performance. Design 3 can offer up to 14% improvements in the overall heat transfer performance without any pumping power penalty. Yet, Design 4 provides the maximum weight saving as compared to the original reference case. With 3–9% lesser surface area than the reference case, Design 4 still offers marginally higher heat transfer performance.