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ISSN Online: 2379-1748

ISBN Flash Drive: 978-1-56700-472-4

ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-471-7

3rd Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference (TFEC)
March, 4–7, 2018, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF THE INFLUENCE OF THE NUMBER OF LOUVERS FINS OF A COMPACT HEAT EXCHANGER

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DOI: 10.1615/TFEC2018.cmd.020936

Abstract

Louvered fin heat exchangers are regularly used in heat transfer applications. In this work is presented a numerical study about the thermohydraulics characteristics by examining the number of louver that get the best performance for different input velocity. This performance is simulated using CFD techniques. Model inlet velocities corresponding to low Reynolds numbers (less than 1000 based on hydraulic diameter) are studied. The fundamental results are: the models with one or two rows of tubes and smaller number of louver ones possess better thermal performance and worse hydraulic performance when they work at smaller Reynolds numbers; the redirecting of the flow that occurs at low velocity was the cause of this performance. Additionally, the models with one or two rows of tubes and more louver blinds have better thermal performance and poor hydraulic behavior when working at higher Reynolds numbers. The mixing of currents at different temperatures was the cause of this behavior. The meshing process of the models is described and the boundary conditions necessary for solving the equations are established.