ANALYTICAL/NUMERICAL PREDICTION OF THE THREE-DIMENSIONAL TEMPERATURE VARIATION IN TUBES HAVING STREAMWISE INTERNAL FINS

Abstract

An analytical/numerical analysis is made of the hydrodynamic and heat transfer characteristics of a fluid flow through internal, longitudinal finned tubes. Employing control volume discretization in the cross section of the tube only, the two-dimensional momentum equation is solved numerically, whereas the three-dimensional energy equation is solved analytically. The pressure gradients are numerically determined, and Ike heat transfer rates, in terms of the tube length, are expressed in analytical form. The computed results are presented for different configurations corresponding to selected combinations of relative fin heights and the number of equally spaced fins in the array.