Some physical insights into a two-row finned-tube heat transfer (Q1390157)

A three-dimensional numerical study was conducted to study the conjugate heat transfer in a finned-tube heat exchanger element. A finite volume discretization and a SIMPLE-based algorithm were applied to differential equations and to their discrete counterparts for computation of gas velocities and temperatures. Since the heat transfer between the gaseous and solid phases is determined by the complex flow structure, calculations for three-dimensional thermally and hydrodynamically developing laminar flows are performed by iteratively solving the heat conduction equation for the plate fin and conservation equations for the gas phase via the coupling boundary condition.