Dehumidification induced thermal behaviour and efficiency analysis of T shaped porous metallic fin: A semi analytical approach using Homotopy Perturbation Method

Abstract

The novelty of this study lies in applying the Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) to analyse T-shaped porous metallic fin under dehumidification, a configuration that has not been explored in previous works. The research provides a comprehensive thermal and efficiency analysis of fin made of Copper (Cu) and Aluminium (Al), where condensation-driven heat and mass transfer within the porous medium is represented through Darcy's law. The governing nonlinear differential equations for the stem and flange regions are solved using HPM, with results validated against established literature. The thermal behaviour analysis shows that the stem maintains a higher temperature due to dominant axial conduction, rising by 14.62 % for Al and 8.64 % for Cu, while the flange remains relatively uniform with lower temperature gains of 0.23 % and 0.14 %. Cu fin outperform Al fin due to higher thermal conductivity, showing 8.64 % and 0.14 % increases in the stem and flange compared to 14.62 % and 0.23 % for Al. Higher relative humidity reduces temperature and efficiency through stronger condensation, while a larger length ratio lowers efficiency by extending the conduction path, with other parameters also analysed for their impact on fin performance. This study improves fin design for humid environments, benefiting heat exchangers and dehumidifiers.