EFFECT OF FIN GEOMETRY ON THE CONDENSATION HEAT-TRANSFER PERFORMANCE OF A BUNDLE OF HORIZONTAL LOW-FINNED TUBES

A theoretical study is made to optimize the fin dimensions of a horizo ntal low-finned condenser tube having a new class of high performance fin recently proposed by the authors. The shape of the proposed fin is characterized by a monotonically increasing radius of curvature near the fin tip and a constant thickness near the fin root. Extensive nume rical calculations with systematically changed values of fin dimension s and vertical bundle depth are conducted to optimize the fin geometry with HCFC-123 as a condensing fluid. The results are compared with th ose for a rectangular fin. The newly proposed finned tube shows a sign ificantly higher heat transfer performance than the rectangular fin tu be. For a typical operating condition and a vertical bundle depth of 3 0, the newly proposed finned tube with an optimized fin geometry provi des an enhancement in the mean overall heat transfer coefficient of a factor of 5.8 over the smooth tube.