Hierarchical Deployment of Vortex Generators for Wake Management in Finned-Tube Heat Exchanger

Abstract

While developing thermal management systems, volumetric compactness of the heat exchange module is a critical design factor. This three-dimensional computational analysis seeks to boost the thermal compactness of fin-and-tube heat exchangers by employing winglet-type vortex generators. Due to the fact that the thermo-hydraulic performance of vortex generators in such thermal systems is determined by three distinct design parameters, namely the attack angle, spatial location, and geometric aspect ratio, a concurrent parametric analysis of all three design parameters is conducted to gain a thorough understanding. In addition, regression analysis is applied to develop functional correlations that can predict the enhanced thermo-hydraulic performance of the heat exchangers. The improvements in wake-affected heat transfer brought on by the modifications are also specifically explored, along with other aspects of the augmentation mechanism. The highest thermal augmentation over the wake-affected fin is seen as 120%. Based on a thermo-hydraulic tradeoff, the friction factor increases exponentially with the attack angle, and the rate of increase is lowest for 15–30 degree range of attack angle and highest for 45–60 degree range. Certainly, there are multiple locations where winglets can be erected, and heat transfer enhancement by each potential location incurs linearized increase in the friction factor.

Acknowledgments

The authors want to thank the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (India), for making it a good place to work.

Disclosure statement

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Funding

The authors received no financial support for the authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Notes on contributors

Amit Arora

Amit Arora is associated with Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur (India) as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering. He obtained his Master and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (India). His research interests include experimental heat transfer, computational fluid dynamics and heat transfer, design optimization of heat exchange modules, heat transfer enhancement, and electronic heat dissipation systems.

Paruchuri M. V. Subbarao

Paruchuri M.V. Subbarao is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (India). He obtained his Master and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (India). His research interests include experimental and numerical heat transfer, inverse heat transfer, experimental turbulence, flame tomography, biofuels, gas dynamics, power generation systems, internal combustion engines, super-critical vapor power cycles, and micro thermo-fluidics. He has published over 140 articles in international journals and conferences.