Flow Visualization in The Fin-and-Tube Heat Exchanger

In a heat exchanger, the behavior of air flow influences the peformance of heat transfer greatly. Understanding the flow will help in improving the peformance and the cost reduction in the system of the heat exchanger. The purpose of this study is to grasp the flow structure and its influence on the peformance of the heat transfer. Flow visualization test was conducted using scale up models of heat exchanger cores which were produced geometrically similar to the actual heat exchangers. By comparing the flow visualization results with those obtained by heat transfer test, the way how the flow in a core affects the heat transfer performance was disclosed.