Modeling the heat transfer and the pressure loss in flat fin-and-tube compact heat exchangers

This work has been supported by the project Centro-01-0145-FEDER-000017 - EMaDeS - Energy, Materials and Sustainable Development, co-financed by the Portugal 2020 Program (PT 2020), within the Regional Operational Program of the Center (CENTRO 2020) and the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The authors wish to thank the opportunity and financial support that permitted to carry on this project.Fin-and-tube heat exchangers (HX) have wide application in the industry. The study of HXs with reduced tube diameter has allowed the development of more compact and equally efficient equipment. Most of the HXs of this type are composed of flat fins, not only due to the ease of construction but also to their reliability in long-term operation and reduced friction characteristics. The formulation of mathematical equations that predict the effect of the geometric characteristics on the heat transfer and friction factors of the HXs lead many researchers to try to establish correlations that approximate the experimental results. In this paper is developed a computational tool based on literature correlations is used to evaluate the Colburn and friction factors for flat fin-and-tube compact HXs. The results of predictions show the Colburn and friction factors behavior for different geometrical parameters (fin pitch, tube diameter, tube number) and typical Reynolds number.