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Multi-objective optimization of three different fins of the heat exchangers used in the domestic gas-fired water heaters: a hydrothermal performance and entropy generation analysis

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Abstract

Enhancing the performance of domestic gas-fired water heaters, due to their extensive usage, will significantly reduce their energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, a numerical investigation, comparison, and optimization of three different fins of the heat exchangers used in the domestic gas-fired water heaters have been performed. The variations of thermal and flow parameters, including Nusselt number (Nu), Colburn factor (j), and Friction factor (f) for every proposed geometry, have been studied numerically. Besides, the effect of parameters including separator angle (α) in the first geometry (G1), nondimensional distance of circular vortex generator from the fin base (L*) in the second geometry (G2), and the nondimensional distance of winglets from the center of pipes' cross section (R*) in the third geometry (G3) on the fluid flow and heat transfer was investigated. Results revealed that the best hydrothermal performance is obtained in G1, G2, and G3 with the specifications of α = 40°, L* = 0.26, and R* = 1.74, respectively. Besides, compared with plain geometry, the maximum enhancement (11.2%) was achieved in G2 with L* = 0.26. The entropy generation (Sg) for each geometry was studied to analyze the performance of the designed fins. It was found that the G2 with L* = 0.13 shows the minimum Sg. The TOPSIS multi-objective optimization results showed that by increasing the Reynolds number (Re), the G2 with L* = 0.13 showed the best performance and was chosen as the best geometry.

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Abbreviations

\(A\) :

Area (m2)

a:

Width of winglet (mm)

b:

Length of winglet (mm)

\(c_{\text{p}}\) :

Heat capacity (kJ kg−1 K−1)

\(D_{\text{H}}\) :

Hydraulic diameter (mm)

D :

Large diameter of Ellipsoid (mm)

d :

Diameter of vortex generator (mm)

\(e\) :

Internal energy (J)

\(\vec{f}\) :

Volumetric force (J)

f :

Friction factor

G1:

First geometry

G2:

Second geometry

G3:

Third geometry

h :

Heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

H :

Enthalpy (Jkg−1)

j:

Colburn factor

\(\vec{J}\) :

Diffusion flux (kg m−2 s−1)

k :

Thermal conductivity (W m−1 K−1)

K :

Turbulent kinetic energy (J)

L :

Length of Airflow domain (mm)

L*:

Dimensionless length

l:

Length between the vortex generator and inlet in G2 (mm)

\(\dot{m}\) :

Mass flow rate (kg s−1)

M:

The gap between Inlet and Separator (mm)

Nu :

Nusselt number

p :

Pressure (Pa)

Pr:

Prandtl number

R*:

Dimensionless radius

\({\text{Re}}\) :

Reynolds number

S: :

Perimeter (mm)

S g :

Entropy generation

t :

Thickness of Airflow domain (mm)

T :

Temperature (K)

\(T_{\infty }\) :

Reference temperature (K)

\(T_{\text{s}}\) :

Calculated temperature (K)

\(T_{\text{b}}\) :

Bulk temperature (K)

\(\vec{v}\) :

Flow Velocity (ms−1)

X:

Width of Airflow domain (mm)

\(\alpha\) :

Angle of separator

\(\beta\) :

Angle of winglet

\(\varepsilon\) :

Turbulent kinetic energy dissipation rate (m2 s−3)

\(\mu\) :

Dynamic viscosity (kg m−1 s−1)

\(\mu_{t}\) :

Turbulent dynamic viscosity (kg m−1 s−1)

\(\upsilon\) :

Kinematic viscosity (m2 s−1)

\(\rho\) :

Mass density (kg m−3)

\(\tau\) :

Deviatoric stress tensor

in:

Inlet

o:

Outlet

w:

Wall

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to the management and staff of Khorasan Razavi Province Gas Company for their generous financial and technical support in this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center of Computational Energy, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran

    Mohammad Ravanbakhsh, Mahdi Deymi-Dashtebayaz & Mojtaba Rezapour

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  1. Mohammad Ravanbakhsh
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Correspondence to Mahdi Deymi-Dashtebayaz.

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Ravanbakhsh, M., Deymi-Dashtebayaz, M. & Rezapour, M. Multi-objective optimization of three different fins of the heat exchangers used in the domestic gas-fired water heaters: a hydrothermal performance and entropy generation analysis. J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 2069–2086 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-022-11831-5

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