Numerical investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of fin and flat tube heat exchanger with various aspect ratios
Thermal and hydraulic performance for laminar flow over a fin and flat tube heat exchanger with various aspect ratios studied numerically. The parameters studied were inlet air velocity and flat-tube aspect ratio. The inlet air velocity was changed within the range of 0.5–3.5 m/s, and the aspect rat...
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Elsevier
2021-10-01
|
| Series: | Alexandria Engineering Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110016821001915 |
| _version_ | 1831551557255036928 |
|---|---|
| author | Mohamed A. Alnakeeb Mahmoud A. Saad Mohamed A. Hassab |
| author_facet | Mohamed A. Alnakeeb Mahmoud A. Saad Mohamed A. Hassab |
| author_sort | Mohamed A. Alnakeeb |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Thermal and hydraulic performance for laminar flow over a fin and flat tube heat exchanger with various aspect ratios studied numerically. The parameters studied were inlet air velocity and flat-tube aspect ratio. The inlet air velocity was changed within the range of 0.5–3.5 m/s, and the aspect ratio of the flat-tubes has been changed in the range of 0.33–1. To do this study, a three-dimensional numerical model was implemented to investigate the airside performance using the commercial CFD software ANSYS FLUENT 17.2. The numerical model consists of 4 tubes in a staggered arrangement, to simulate a dry cooling process in a heat exchanger. The numerical model has been validated by comparing the pressure drop and the heat transfer coefficient with the experimental published data. A good agreement was observed between the present and experimental published data. In the current study, pressure drop (ΔP), heat transfer coefficient (h), area goodness factor (j/f), and heat transfer per unit fan power (Q/Pf) were determined and illustrated graphically. The results indicated that the flat-tube aspect ratio has a significant effect on the pressure drop and the heat transfer per unit fan power. Decreasing the flat tube aspect ratio from 1 (circular tube) to 0.33 the pressure drop reduced by 33.7% and 57.3% with an air inlet velocity of 0.5 and 3.5 m/s respectively. Also, decreasing the flat tube aspect ratio from 1 to 0.33, the Q/Pf is enhanced by 52.9% and 111.5% with an air inlet velocity of 0.5 and 3.5 m/s respectively. Finally, it is concluded that the flat-tube with the lowest aspect ratio has the highest overall performance of the heat exchanger, and thus it is recommended to reduce the energy consumption. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-17T03:11:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-7b26df713e274c4ab046c16f577d1d9c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1110-0168 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-17T03:11:16Z |
| publishDate | 2021-10-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Alexandria Engineering Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-7b26df713e274c4ab046c16f577d1d9c2022-12-21T22:05:50ZengElsevierAlexandria Engineering Journal1110-01682021-10-0160542554265Numerical investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of fin and flat tube heat exchanger with various aspect ratiosMohamed A. Alnakeeb0Mahmoud A. Saad1Mohamed A. Hassab2Corresponding author.; Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, EgyptDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, EgyptDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Alexandria University, EgyptThermal and hydraulic performance for laminar flow over a fin and flat tube heat exchanger with various aspect ratios studied numerically. The parameters studied were inlet air velocity and flat-tube aspect ratio. The inlet air velocity was changed within the range of 0.5–3.5 m/s, and the aspect ratio of the flat-tubes has been changed in the range of 0.33–1. To do this study, a three-dimensional numerical model was implemented to investigate the airside performance using the commercial CFD software ANSYS FLUENT 17.2. The numerical model consists of 4 tubes in a staggered arrangement, to simulate a dry cooling process in a heat exchanger. The numerical model has been validated by comparing the pressure drop and the heat transfer coefficient with the experimental published data. A good agreement was observed between the present and experimental published data. In the current study, pressure drop (ΔP), heat transfer coefficient (h), area goodness factor (j/f), and heat transfer per unit fan power (Q/Pf) were determined and illustrated graphically. The results indicated that the flat-tube aspect ratio has a significant effect on the pressure drop and the heat transfer per unit fan power. Decreasing the flat tube aspect ratio from 1 (circular tube) to 0.33 the pressure drop reduced by 33.7% and 57.3% with an air inlet velocity of 0.5 and 3.5 m/s respectively. Also, decreasing the flat tube aspect ratio from 1 to 0.33, the Q/Pf is enhanced by 52.9% and 111.5% with an air inlet velocity of 0.5 and 3.5 m/s respectively. Finally, it is concluded that the flat-tube with the lowest aspect ratio has the highest overall performance of the heat exchanger, and thus it is recommended to reduce the energy consumption.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110016821001915Fin and tube heat exchangerCompact heat exchangerFlat tubeDry cooling |
| spellingShingle | Mohamed A. Alnakeeb Mahmoud A. Saad Mohamed A. Hassab Numerical investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of fin and flat tube heat exchanger with various aspect ratios Alexandria Engineering Journal Fin and tube heat exchanger Compact heat exchanger Flat tube Dry cooling |
| title | Numerical investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of fin and flat tube heat exchanger with various aspect ratios |
| title_full | Numerical investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of fin and flat tube heat exchanger with various aspect ratios |
| title_fullStr | Numerical investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of fin and flat tube heat exchanger with various aspect ratios |
| title_full_unstemmed | Numerical investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of fin and flat tube heat exchanger with various aspect ratios |
| title_short | Numerical investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of fin and flat tube heat exchanger with various aspect ratios |
| title_sort | numerical investigation of thermal and hydraulic performance of fin and flat tube heat exchanger with various aspect ratios |
| topic | Fin and tube heat exchanger Compact heat exchanger Flat tube Dry cooling |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110016821001915 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mohamedaalnakeeb numericalinvestigationofthermalandhydraulicperformanceoffinandflattubeheatexchangerwithvariousaspectratios AT mahmoudasaad numericalinvestigationofthermalandhydraulicperformanceoffinandflattubeheatexchangerwithvariousaspectratios AT mohamedahassab numericalinvestigationofthermalandhydraulicperformanceoffinandflattubeheatexchangerwithvariousaspectratios |