In this paper a parametric study of thermal-hydraulic performance of round tube heat exchangers with protrusion enhanced plate fin surfaces is presented. A numerical model was developed to simulate the airside heat transfer and pressure drop for heat exchangers under dry fin surface conditions. A comparison of different fin surface enhancements on heat exchanger with 6 and 8 rows shows that punched protrusions, such as pyramids around a fin collar base, provide a more effective heat transfer fin surface. For air flow through a heat exchanger, we show that such protrusions on plate fins can effectively reduce the wake flow regions, take advantage of the leading edge effect, break up and reestablish the boundary layers. We found that by optimizing protrusion size and location, no significant airside pressure drop was added to the airflow. Protrusion enhanced fin surfaces offer a cost effective design alternative for heat exchangers.
展开▼
