Influence of curved trapezoidal winglet vortex generators on thermalhydraulic performance in fin-and-tube heat exchangers

Fin-tube heat exchangers play a crucial role in various industrial and HVAC applications due to their high heat transfer efficiency.This study focuses on the numerical analysis of fin-tube heat exchangers integrated with curved trapezoidal winglet vortex generators.In the current work, the impact of three key factors on heat transfer and flow characteristics: inlet velocity (2-5 m/s), vortex generator position angle (45-120), and arc length (3.80-6.33 mm) is analyzed.To enhance the accuracy of output predictions, this research extends beyond conventional parametric studies by utilizing a structured design of experiments approach.The study determines the optimal configurations through Kriging response surface methodology analysis.Results indicate a potential 48.5% improvement in heat transfer and up to an 18.3% enhancement in thermo-hydraulic performance.Moreover, the study reveals that improper sizing and positioning of vortex generators may lead to a 5% decrease in thermo-hydraulic performance compared to the heat exchanger without vortex generators.This work aims to explore strategies for enhancing the thermal performance of fin-and-tube heat exchangers through novel vortex generator designs by considering their geometric dimensions and positioning.