• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers B
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• v.34 no.5
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• pp.515-522
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• 2010

The objective of this study is to investigate the air-side heat transfer characteristics of a spirally-coiled circular fin-tube heat exchanger for various geometric parameters under non-frosting conditions. The heat transfer characteristics of the heat exchanger were analyzed with respect to heat exchanger geometries, and then, the characteristics were compared with those of rectangular-plate fin-tube heat exchangers with discrete fins. The heat transfer coefficient increased with a decrease in the number of tube rows and an increase in the fin pitch. The optimum length of the L-foot was 2.7 mm. In addition, the heat transfer rate increased with a decrease in the tube pitch and the tube thickness. The heat transfer coefficient of the spirally-coiled circular fin-tube heat exchanger was 24.3% higher than that of the rectangular-plate fin-tube heat exchanger.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.529-535
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• 2005

This study experimentally examines the air-side performance of spiral finned tube heat exchangers. The effects of fin spacing, fin height, and tube alignment were investigated. Reduction of fin spacing decreased the Colburn j factor. However, the effect of fin height on the Colburn j factor was negligible. An increase of tube row decreased the Nusselt number for both staggered and in-line tube alignments. However, the decrease of the Nusselt number for the in-line tube alignment was much more significant than that of the staggered tube alignment. The average Nusselt number of the staggered tube alignment was larger than that of the in-line tube alignment by $10\%$ when the Reynolds number ranged from 300 to 1700. An empirical correlation of the Nusselt number was developed by using geometric parameters of heat exchanger and correction factors. The correction factor considered the effects of tube alignment and number of tube rows on the heat transfer. The proposed correlation yielded a mean deviation of $4\%$ from the present data.