Experimental Study on the Air-Side Performance of a Multipass Parallel and Counter Cross-Flow L-Footed Spiral Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

Abstract

This study conducted experiments on the air-side performance of novel L-footed spiral fin-and-tube heat exchangers that were faced with airflow at high Reynolds numbers (3500–13,000). The examined heat exchangers have a multipass parallel-and-counter cross-flow type of water flow arrangement. This flow arrangement is a combination of the parallel cross-flow and the counter cross-flow. This type of water flow arrangement may be the best fit for the reverse-flow system, because it can provide constant heat-exchange effectiveness for every flow reversal direction at the same airflow rate. Ambient air was used as a working fluid on the air side and hot water for the tube side. This way the effect of the number of tube rows on the heat transfer and friction characteristics of L-footed spiral fin-and-tube heat exchangers was clearly observed. The effect of the fin's outside diameter on the pressure drop was also studied. The results show that the number of tube rows has no significant effect on the air-side heat transfer or on friction characteristics at high Reynolds numbers. However, the fin's outside diameter shows a significant effect on the pressure drop. The pressure drop increases as the fin's outside diameter increases for the same number of tube rows.

Acknowledgments

The authors are indebted to the Thailand Research Fund, the Energy Policy and Planning Office, the Office of the Higher Education Commission, and the National Research University Project for supporting this study.