A critical review of the thermal-hydraulic performance of fin and tube heat exchangers using statistical analysis

Abstract

Fin and tube heat exchangers (FTHE) find widespread application in a variety of industries including refrigeration, air conditioning, automotive, electronics, and power generation. Current research on FTHE is focused on developing heat exchangers that are compact, cost-effective, and energy efficient. This review paper is focused on the quantitative assessment and comparison of the thermal-hydraulic performance of different type of FTHE. Analysis of variance is used to determine the most important performance factors and their interactions for the considered type of FTHE. A comparative analysis of the thermal-hydraulic performance of different FTHE types is conducted based on Nusselt number, friction factor, and normalized performance evaluation index (NPEI). Finally, a parametric study is carried out to investigate the impact of significant performance parameters on the thermal-hydraulic characteristics of the respective FTHE type. Louvered FTHE and modified FTHE with vortex generators outperform the plain and wavy FTHE in terms of NPEI. This comprehensive review offers significant insights for enhancing the thermal-hydraulic performance of different type of FTHE and selecting the appropriate type tailored to specific application requirements.