Experimental study on thermal-hydraulic performance of a wavy fin-and-flat tube aluminum heat exchanger

The air side thermal hydraulic performance of the wavy fin-and-flat tube aluminum heat exchanger was studied. A set of experimental tests were conducted under different operating conditions for 16 sets of wavy fin geometry parameters. The experimental correlation equations were developed for the heat transfer and pressure drop performances of a wavy fin heat exchanger by the multiple regression method. The parametric study for thermal hydraulic performance of the wavy fins was carried out using the Taguchi method. It is showed that the amplitude and length of a wavy fin were the most important factors for the heat exchanger's overall thermal hydraulic performance. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.