Abstract
In recent years, air-conditioning units designed with higher efficiency and more compactness are required due to emphasis on energy efficiency in home electrical appliances. This trend in the air-conditioning industries has accelerated the development of improved heat exchanger with a better performance in heat transfer aspects. In this study, experiments were performed to investigate the shape and configuration of fins affecting on the performance of the conventional fin-and-tube type heat exchanger equipped in a commercial air conditioners. The geometry similtude method was employed to measure the heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop. Experimental results show that this method is very useful to analyze the heat transfer characteristics of the fin-and-tube type heat exchanger. It is also found that the slit fin has better performance than the conventional fin type in the air conditioners. The present results indicate that heat transfer from the fin si influenced by the parameters such as the forming area of the slit fin, the type of interrupted surfaces like a louver or slit, slit patterns and slit raised direction, and it also affects the overall heat exchanger performance.
