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A review on the thermal hydraulic characteristics of the air-cooled heat exchangers in forced convection

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Abstract

In this paper, a review is presented on the experimental investigations and the numerical simulations performed to analyze the thermal-hydraulic performance of the air-cooled heat exchangers. The air-cooled heat exchangers mostly consist of the finned-tube bundles. The primary role of the extended surfaces (fins) is to provide more heat transfer area to enhance the rate of heat transfer on the air side. The secondary role of the fins is to generate vortices, which help in enhancing the mixing and the heat transfer coefficient. In this study, the annular and plate fins are considered, the annular fins are further divided into four categories: (1) plane annular fins, (2) serrated fins, (3) crimped spiral fins, (4) perforated fins, and similarly for the plate fins, the fin types are: (1) plain plate fins, (2) wavy plate fins, (3) plate fins with DWP, and (4) slit and strip fins. In Section 4, the performance of the various types of fins is presented with respect to the parameters: (1) Reynolds number, (2) fin pitch, (3) fin height, (4) fin thickness, (5) tube diameter, (6) tube pitch, (7) tube type, (8) number of tube rows, and (9) effect of dehumidifying conditions. In Section 5, the conclusions and the recommendations for the future work have been given.

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  1. Homi Bhabha National Institute, Anushaktinagar, Mumbai, 400 094, India

    ANKUR KUMAR, JYESHTHARAJ B JOSHI, ARUN K NAYAK & PALLIPPATTU K VIJAYAN

  2. Reactor Engineering Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Center, Trombay, Mumbai, 400 085, India

    ANKUR KUMAR, ARUN K NAYAK & PALLIPPATTU K VIJAYAN

  3. Department of Chemical Engineering, Institute of Chemical Technology, Matunga, Mumbai, 400 019, India

    JYESHTHARAJ B JOSHI

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KUMAR, A., JOSHI, J.B., NAYAK, A.K. et al. A review on the thermal hydraulic characteristics of the air-cooled heat exchangers in forced convection. Sadhana 40, 673–755 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12046-015-0362-x

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