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Evaluation of thermal contact conductance using a new experimental-numerical method in fin-tube heat exchangers.

Author(s) : KIM C. N., JEONG J., YOUN B.

Type of article: Article, IJR article

Summary

In a fin-tube heat exchanger the contact between fin collar and tube surface is obtained through mechanical expansion of tubes. Since the interfaces between the tubes and fins consist partially of metal-to-metal contact and partially of air, the features of heat transfer through the contact interfaces have not been fully investigated. The present study aims at the development of a new tool including an experiment and a numerical calculation for the estimation of the thermal contact conductance between the fin collar and tube surface, and pursues the evaluation of the factors affecting the thermal contact conductance in a fin-tube heat exchanger. Heat exchangers fabricated for the current study have been put to the test for heat balance in a vacuum chamber with water as an internal fluid. And a finite difference numerical scheme has been used for the data reduction of the experimental data to evaluate the thermal contact conductance. Fin-tube heat exchangers employed in the current research are of tube diameter of 7 mm with different tube expansion ratios, fin spacings, and fin types. The results of the present study imply that these parameters as well as hydrophilic fin coating have a significant effect on the thermal contact conductance. It has been discovered that the portion of the thermal contact resistance is not negligible compared with the total thermal resistance in a fin-tube heat exchanger, and this means that in order to reduce the thermal contact resistance thoughtful care should be taken in fabricating heat exchangers.

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Pages: 900-908

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Details

  • Original title: Evaluation of thermal contact conductance using a new experimental-numerical method in fin-tube heat exchangers.
  • Record ID : 2004-0641
  • Languages: English
  • Source: International Journal of Refrigeration - Revue Internationale du Froid - vol. 26 - n. 8
  • Publication date: 2003/12

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