Examining the Impact of Conical Fin Shape on Hydrothermal Characteristics

This study examined the transformation of cone fins into truncated cone fins under low laminar forced convection heat transfer, focusing on their effects on heat transfer and steam condensation in a staggered heat sink arrangement.It calculated the outlet cold water temperature and included five cone shapes based on the tip-to-base diameter ratio, ranging from 0 to 0.8 in increments of 0.2 while keeping the surface area, height, and transverse pitch constant.The results showed that using a truncated conical fin instead of a conical fin decreased heat transfer, the convection heat transfer coefficient, and the steam condensation rate.An increased tip diameter to base diameter ratio further reduced these parameters due to less contact area between the fin base and the plate surface.Additionally, there was strong agreement between theoretical and experimental methods in calculating the outlet water temperature and convection heat transfer coefficient.The DOE suggested optimal working conditions in every heat sink sample, and when their results were validated experimentally, it found good agreement.Additionally, the DOE provided empirical relations to determine heat transfer rate, pressure drop and steam condensation rate as a function of Ps and Vw.