SOME PHYSICAL INSIGHTS INTO A 2-ROW FINNED-TUBE HEAT-TRANSFER

A three-dimensional numerical study was conducted to broaden our knowl edge of the conjugate heat transfer in a finned-tube heat exchanger el ement. A finite volume discretization method and a SIMPLE-based soluti on algorithm were applied to working differential equations and their discrete counterparts for computation of gas velocities and temperatur es. Since the heat transfer between the gaseous and solid phases is de termined by the complex flow structure, calculations for three-dimensi onal thermally and hydrodynamically developing laminar hows are perfor med by iteratively solving the heat conduction equation for the plate fin and conservation equations for the gas phase via the coupling boun dary condition. The emphasis of this study is directed toward numerica l exploration of the flow structure. To this end, the underlying topol ogical theory shows the promise of being a powerful tool for the study of how details. In dry conditions, some insight in the heat-transfer capability of the two-row finned-tube heat exchanger can be gained by examining the span-averaged Nusselt number and span-averaged pressure drop in the flow passage. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights re served.