Finned Tube Heat Exchanger Enhancements with Needle Fin Shapes

Finned-tube heat exchangers with low weight and good thermal characteristics are required to meet new heat transfer issues and rising application demand. Fins increase the flow mixture, lower the recirculating zone, and distribute heat to the environment to preserve system thermal efficiency. This research explores thermo-hydraulic characteristics, weight reduction, and performance parameter for 17 examples with 0.5 mm needle fin thickness with 10 mm altitude and diverse forms, including six angles (80°, 70°, 60°, 50°, 40°, and 30°) and three vertices (6, 8, and 10 Each is compared to equal-sized circular fins. SOLID WORK 2021 generated 3D geometry and heat exchanger weight reduction values. At 4,300 Reynold number, ANSYS FLUENT 2020 R2 estimated heat transfer effect of each air-water heat exchanger form. All needle fins outperformed solid fins in heat transfer. By decreasing the number of vertices (N) and their angles (Ɵ), thermal characteristics have improved. For instance, lowering (N) from 10 to 6 and (Ɵ) from 80° to 30° leads to increased Nusselt number (Nu) by 40.76 % -154.78 %, 26.27 % -76.29 %, 29.24% -202.37 %, and heat flow rate per unit area (Q/m^2) by 26%-76%, 25%-62%, and 14.33-49% Heat exchangers using proposed needle designs saved 37% in weight (w) and 37%-15%, 12%-15%, and 9%- 10% in friction factor (f) for 80°-30°.