ANALYTICAL INVESTIGATION OF THE AIR-SIDE HEAT TRANSFER IN FIN AND TUBE HEAT EXCHANGERS

Laminar forced convection in the entrance region of rectangular ducts with heat conduction in the solid walls are studied. This geometry closely models that of a single row flat plate fin heat exchanger with flat tubes. The different parameters that affect the air-side heat transfer and pressure loss in finned tube heat exchangers are examined. The results indicate the significance of the two dimensional effects. The average fin temperature is much less than the base temperature. There is also a significant difference between the Nusselt number on the fin and that of the bare part of the pipe.