Performance analysis of a compound heat exchanger by screening its design parameters

Manufacturers of heat exchangers are continuously searching for new and better designs. A promising approach is to combine known enhancement techniques, resulting in so-called compound heat exchangers. In this paper the air-side of a round-tube heat exchanger with louvered fins and delta winglet vor...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied thermal engineering 2013-03, Vol.51 (1-2), p.490-501
Main Authors: Huisseune, Henk, T'Joen, Christophe, De Jaeger, Peter, Ameel, Bernd, De Schampheleire, Sven, De Paepe, Michel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Computer simulation
Delta wings
Design parameters
Devices using thermal energy
Energy
Energy. Thermal use of fuels
Exact sciences and technology
Heat exchanger
Heat exchangers
Heat exchangers (included heat transformers, condensers, cooling towers)
Inlets
Louvered fin
Mathematical models
Searching
Simulation
Validation experiment
Vortex generator
Winglets
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Summary:Manufacturers of heat exchangers are continuously searching for new and better designs. A promising approach is to combine known enhancement techniques, resulting in so-called compound heat exchangers. In this paper the air-side of a round-tube heat exchanger with louvered fins and delta winglet vortex generators is studied. The contribution of five important design parameters to the thermal hydraulic performance of the compound heat exchanger was numerically investigated. Knowing which parameters have the biggest influence is important for the optimization. To limit the number of simulations, the Taguchi method was used. At high inlet velocities the performance is mainly determined by the louvers, while at lower inlet velocities also the delta winglet geometry has a significant contribution. To validate the simulations, an aluminum compound heat exchanger was made and tested in a wind tunnel. This validation experiment showed that there is an acceptable match between the numerical results and measurements. ► Study of enhanced heat exchanger with round tubes, louvers and delta winglets. ► At high inlet velocities heat exchanger performance mainly determined by louvers. ► Delta winglet geometry important at lower inlet velocities. ► Wind tunnel experiment was performed as validation.
ISSN:1359-4311
DOI:10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2012.09.044