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Experimental and numerical studies on heat transfer enhancement for air conditioner condensers using a wavy fin with a rectangular winglet

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Abstract

The air side thermal performance of wavy fins with rectangular winglets are studied using experimental and numerical methods. The following parameters are selected for investigation: the attack angle, placed location, span and length of the rectangular winglet. The results show that all parameters affect the thermal performance of the air side. The best configurations of the winglet that provide the maximum j/f(1/3) for both winglet lengths are the 3.5 mm horizontal distance, 7 mm vertical distance, 60° attack angle and 1.25 mm winglet span. Moreover, the thermal performance comparisons between the optimal design of the wavy fin with winglet and normal wavy fin are reported. Wavy fins with winglets provide a larger heat transfer coefficient, pressure drop and j/f(1/3) than those of normal wavy fins. For the j/f(1/3) comparison, wavy fins with winglets provide a j/f(1/3) greater than that of normal wavy fins by 5.4–14.6 %, with the Reynolds number ranging from 1650 to 4423.

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Abbreviations

Ac :

Minimum flow area (m2)

Ah :

Heat transfer area between the air and fin (m2)

Ao :

Total surface area (m2)

ATA:

Attack angle (degree)

cp :

Specific heat at constant pressure (kJ/kg·K)

D:

Diameter (mm)

Fp :

Fin pitch (mm)

f:

Friction factor

\(\overline h \) :

Heat transfer coefficient (W/m2·K)

\({\overline h _{{\rm{sa}}}}\) :

Span-average heat transfer coefficient (W/m2·K)

HD:

Horizontal distance (mm)

j :

Colburn factor

K:

Thermal conductivity (W/m·K)

ṁ :

Mass flow rate (kg/s)

P:

Pressure (Pa)

Pd :

Waffle height (mm)

Pl:

Longitudinal pitch (mm)

Pt:

Transverse pitch (mm)

Pr:

Prandtl number

ΔP:

Pressure drop (Pa)

Q:

Heat transfer rate (W)

Re:

Reynolds number

T:

Temperature (K)

\({\overline T _s}\) :

Mean temperature of the fin surface (K)

ui :

Cartesian velocity component (m/s)

V:

Velocity (m/s)

VD:

Vertical distance (mm)

Vmax :

Maximum velocity (m/s)

WL:

Winglet length (mm)

WS:

Winglet span (mm)

Xf :

Projected fin length (mm)

μ :

Viscosity (kg/m·s)

ρ :

Density (kg/m3)

δ f :

Fin thickness (mm)

σ :

Contraction ratio of the cross-sectional area

a:

Air

c:

Collar

in:

Inlet

m:

Average value

o:

Overall

out:

Outlet

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by the “Research Chair Grant” National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA) and King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi through the “KMUTT 55th Anniversary Commemorative Fund”.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Engineering, Thaksin University, Phatthalung, 93210, Thailand

    Nares Chimres

  2. Saijo Denki (International) Co., Ltd, Muang, Nonthaburi, 11000, Thailand

    Thunyawat Chittiphalungsri

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India

    Lazarus Godson Asirvatham

  4. Heat and Thermodynamics Division, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Yildiz Technical University, Yildiz, Besiktas, Istanbul, Turkey

    Ahmet Selim Dalkılıç

  5. School of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China

    Omid Mahian

  6. Renewable Energy and Micro/Nano Sciences Lab., Department of Mechanical Engineering, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

    Omid Mahian

  7. Fluid Mechanics, Thermal Engineering and Multiphase Flow Research Lab. (FUTURE), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT), Bangmod, Bangkok, 10140, Thailand

    Somchai Wongwises

  8. The Academy of Science, The Royal Society of Thailand, Sanam Suea Pa, Dusit, Bangkok, Bangkok, 10300, Thailand

    Somchai Wongwises

  9. National Science and Technology Development Agency (NSTDA), Pathum Thani, 12120, Thailand

    Somchai Wongwises

Authors
  1. Nares Chimres
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  2. Thunyawat Chittiphalungsri
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  3. Lazarus Godson Asirvatham
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  4. Ahmet Selim Dalkılıç
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  5. Omid Mahian
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  6. Somchai Wongwises
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Somchai Wongwises.

Additional information

Nares Chimres is a lecturer of the Faculty of Engineering, Thaksin University, Phattalung, Thailand. He received his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi. His research interests are in modern heat transfer, energy and computational fluid dynamics.

Thunyawat Chittiphalungsri is currently working in the position of Assistant Managing Director in Saijo Denki International, leading air condi-tioner manufacturer in Thailand. He received his Master degree in MBA from Sasin School of Management, Chulalongkorn University and Bachelor degree with first class honor from King Mongkul’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang in Computer Engineering. His area of interest is smart, green and hygienic air conditioner, ventilation and heat pump system development.

Godson Asirvatham Lazarus is currently working as a Professor and Head of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Technology, Karunya Institute of Technology and Sciences, Coimbatore, India. His research interests include: experimental heat transfer; enhancement of phase-change heat transfer; thermal management of electronic devices; nanofluid heat transfer in thermal energy systems, heat pipes for electronic cooling applications and mini and micro-channel heat transfer. He is also heading the Centre for Research in Material Science and Thermal Management (CRMS&TM) that focuses on the cooling of miniaturized electronic devices, electric vehicle battery cooling, fuel cell cooling, automobile engine cooling and high temperature material processing, etc.

Ahmet Selim Dalkiliç is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Yildiz Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey. He received his Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the same university in 2006. He accomplished his post Ph.D. work under guidance of Prof. Somchai Wongwises from Thailand in 2007. His current research interest is on enhanced heat transfer, convection heat transfer, condensation, evaporation, boiling heat transfer of new refrigerants and mixture refrigerants and applications in heat exchangers. He has been serving as an Editor in Chief position for Journal of Thermal Engineering.

Omid Mahian is a full Professor (national young talents) at Xi’an Jiaotong University. Currently, he is a member of the editorial board of Energy and Renewable Energy Journals, a Senior Associate Editor of Journal of Thermal Analysis and Calorimetry and an associate editor in J. Thermal Science. His research direction mainly includes the application of nanotechnology in renewable energy (such as nanofluids application in solar collector and solar desalination) and entropy generation and exergy analysis in energy systems. He has been selected as a highly cited researcher for two consecutive years (2018, 2019) by Web of Science.

Somchai Wongwises is currently a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi, Bangmod, Thailand. He received his Doktor Ingenieur (Dr.-Ing.) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Hannover, Germany, in 1994. His research interests include two-phase flow, heat transfer enhancement, and thermal system design. Professor Wongwises is the head of the Fluid Mechanics, Thermal Engineering and Two-Phase Flow Research Laboratory (FUTURE). He was one of the highly cited researchers in 2017, 2018 and 2019 (clarivate analytics).

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Chimres, N., Chittiphalungsri, T., Asirvatham, L.G. et al. Experimental and numerical studies on heat transfer enhancement for air conditioner condensers using a wavy fin with a rectangular winglet. J Mech Sci Technol 34, 4307–4322 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0921-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-020-0921-x

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