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Experimental study of the airside performance for interrupted fin-and-tube heat exchanger with hydrophilic coating under dehumidifying conditions

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Abstract

The airside heat transfer and friction characteristics of seven interrupted fin-and-tube heat exchangers with hydrophilic coating under dehumidifying conditions are experimented. The effects of number of tube rows, fin pitch and inlet relative humidity on airside performance are analyzed. The test results show that the influence of fin pitch on the friction characteristic under dehumidifying conditions is similar to that under dry surface, and the friction factors decrease slightly with the increase of number of tube rows. The heat transfer performance decreases as fin pitch and number of tube rows increases. The heat transfer performance and the friction characteristic are independent of inlet relative humidity. Based on the test results, heat transfer and friction correlations in terms of the Colburn j factor and Fanning f factor, are proposed to describe the airside performance of the interrupted fin geometry with hydrophilic coating under dehumidifying conditions. The correlation of the Colburn j factor gives a mean deviation of 9.7%, while the correlation of the Fanning f factor shows a mean deviation of 7.3%.

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Abbreviations

A 0 :

Total airside surface area, m2

A 1 :

Outside surface area of tubes, m2

A 2 :

Surface area of fin, m2

A fr :

Frontal area, m2

A min :

Minimum free-flow area, m2

c p :

Specific heat capacity at constant pressure, J/(kg·K)

D c :

Fin collar outside diameter, m

f :

Friction factor

F pi :

Fin pitch, m

F sp :

Fin spacing F sp = F pi − 2δ, m

G c :

Mass flux of the air based on the minimum flow area, kg/(m2·s)

h ma :

Mass transfer coefficient, kg/(m2·s)

h se :

Sensible heat transfer coefficient, W/(m2·K)

H :

Enthalpy, kJ/kg

H fg :

Saturated water vapor enthalpy, kJ/kg

j :

The Colburn factor

Le :

Lewis number

q m :

Mass flow rate, kg/s

N :

Number of longitudinal tube rows

P l :

Longitudinal tube pitch, m

P t :

Transverse tube pitch, m

P r :

Prandtl number

Δp :

Pressure drop of airside, Pa

Q :

Average heat transfer rate, kW

Q se :

Sensible heat transfer rate, kW

Q la :

Latent heat transfer rate, kW

Re Dc :

Reynolds number based on tube collar diameter

RH:

Relative humidity

t :

Temperature, °C

v :

Velocity, m/s

w :

Humidity ratio of moist air, kg/kg

δ :

Fin thickness, m

η f,wet :

Wet fin efficiency

gh os :

Overall surface effectiveness

µ :

Dynamic viscosity, (N · s)/m2

ρ :

Air density, kg/m3

σ :

Contraction ratio of the fin array

a:

Air

d:

Dew point

dry:

Dry bulb temperature

f:

Fin

fb:

Fin base

ft:

Fin tip

i:

Inner

in:

Inlet

m:

Mean

o:

Outer

out:

Outlet

s:

Saturated

w:

Water

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Refrigeration and Cryogenics, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, 200240, China

    Xiao-kui Ma  (马小魁), Guo-liang Ding  (丁国良) & Yuan-ming Zhang  (张圆明)

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  1. Xiao-kui Ma  (马小魁)
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  2. Guo-liang Ding  (丁国良)
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  3. Yuan-ming Zhang  (张圆明)
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Correspondence to Guo-liang Ding  (丁国良).

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Ma, Xk., Ding, Gl. & Zhang, Ym. Experimental study of the airside performance for interrupted fin-and-tube heat exchanger with hydrophilic coating under dehumidifying conditions. J. Shanghai Jiaotong Univ. (Sci.) 14, 45–51 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12204-009-0045-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12204-009-0045-z

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