Numerical investigation of plate fin performance for a compact heat exchanger

밀집형 열교환기에 사용하는 평판핀 성능에 관한 수치적 연구

Fin conduction not only enhances heat transfer to the ambient air but also increases tube-to-tube conduction. The latter is known to deteriorate the heat exchanger performance. Heat conduction between neighboring tubes thorough the fin is numerically investigated for accurate performance analysis of plate finned-tube heat exchangers. Governing equations for arbitrary plate fin are solved and the temperature distribution is obtained using the principle of superposition. Analysis is made using finite element method by changing the shapes of fin, the arrangements of tubes and the fin parameter mD. It is found that tube-to-tube conduction is significant when mD is small or the distance between neighboring tubes is small.