The amplitude influence on the thermal and hydraulic performances for a wavy air fin in a compact heat exchanger used in agriculture applications

Abstract

Wavy air fins are used in the construction of aluminum compact heat exchangers which are used in thermal equipment for agriculture, construction, and industrial applications. Since atmospheric air convective heat transfer coefficient is among the lowest of all fluids, there is a special interest in the optimizing of the geometry for this type of heat exchangers. One of the biggest challenges in designing cooling solutions for agriculture applications is the clogging effect on the performances of the heat exchangers. Clogging leads to a critical performance reduction of the compact heat exchanger used for these types of applications. This specific study, which was conducted in RAAL S.A company in collaboration with the University “Politehnica” of Timisoara”, checks the influence of the wavy air fin amplitude on the thermal and hydraulic performances and tries to find an optimum solution suitable for these specific projects. So, starting from the standard existing amplitude, different amplitude values were studied analytically. The analytical studies were further confirmed by real life measurements. The scope of the study was to find an optimal value for the amplitude that can further improve the overall performance of the aluminum compact heat exchangers and reduce the clogging effect.