Numerical Analysis of Impact of Relative Humidity on Crossflow Heat Exchangers with Staggered Configuration at Maximum Operating Temperature

Heat exchangers are employed in numerous applications of industry, automotive and air conditioning systems. The efficacy of heat exchangers depends upon various factors e.g., Reynolds number (Re) of the fluids, geometry of heat exchanging surfaces, and the Prandtl number of the cooling air. In this paper, the working of a crossflow heat exchanger with elliptical tubes is simulated numerically for 5000 < Re < 20000 at its maximum operating temperature of 323K. The tubes were arranged in a staggered way. The radical investigations were done at one-of-a-kind relative humidity ranges within the cooling air ranging from 0% to 80%. The relative humidity was modeled in the shape of mass fractions of water vapors in the air. The thermos-physical properties of dry and moist air were employed for the analysis. The impact of this changing of relative humidity on forced convection heat transfer of heat exchangers is examined in the form of percentage change in Nusselt number. With the increase in moisture content in the air, the Nusselt number was observed increased up to 4.5%. The paper provides a tool to analyze the Nusselt number of the elliptical-shaped heat exchanger while operating in moist atmospheric conditions. Full Tex