Performance of Elliptical Pin Fin Heat Exchanger with Three Elliptical Perforations

Abstract

A computational investigation has been carried out to assess the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of elliptical pin fins arranged in a rectangular duct in a staggered manner. Two types of elliptical pin fins have been considered for this purpose, namely, solid elliptical and perforated elliptical pin fins. Three perforations of elliptical cross sections are considered in the elliptical pin fins. Pressure, temperature and velocity profiles at different locations within the computational domain are considered for different inlet velocities. The heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics along the computational domain are presented and the overall performance, which is defined here as the heat transfer per unit pressure drop, of the heat exchanger is also assessed. The results show that the perforated elliptical pin fins perform better than the solid elliptical pin fin both in terms of heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics.