Energy Conversion and Management 80 (2014) 287–297

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Energy Conversion and Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/enconman

Performance investigation of an innovative offset strip fin arrays

in compact heat exchangers
Hao Peng, Xiang Ling ⇑, Juan Li
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Process Enhancement and New Energy Equipment Technology, School of Mechanical and Power Engineering, Nanjing University of Technology, No. 30
Pu Zhu South Road, Nanjing 211816, PR China

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Experimental and numerical studies on the flow and heat transfer characteristics for an innovative offset
Received 3 December 2013 strip fins compact heat exchangers were performed. First, five fin schemes were investigated with various
Accepted 24 January 2014 air flow velocities and a constant inlet steam pressure by experiments. The Reynolds number ranged from
Available online 17 February 2014
500 to 5000 at the air side. The experimental results indicated that the fin pitch (Pf), fin length (Lf) and fin
bending distance (Cf) have a significant influence on thermal performance of fins. The Colburn factor j,
Keywords: friction factor f and ‘point of transition’ were calculated from the experimental data. Then, the ther-
Compact heat exchanger
mal–hydraulic performances of the novel offset strip fins were analyzed numerically. The simulation
Offset strip fin
Thermal entrance effect
results obtained are in agreement with experimental data. Based on these simulations, the maximum val-
Colburn factor ues for local Nu number are at the channel inlet which is due to the thermal entrance effect. The longi-
Friction factor tudinal vortexes near the fin region will increase velocity gradient and reduce the thickness of boundary
layer to improve heat transfer. The main conclusion draws from this work will be helpful for future devel-
opment and design of a high-efficiency heat exchangers involving offset strip fin structures.
Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction correlations for their thermal–hydraulic performance. Mochizuki

Offset-strip fins are widely used for compact heat exchangers to
enhance heat transfer rate by enlarging surface area and regenerat-
ing thermal boundary layer in each flow channel. There are several
books and numerous experimental and numerical investigations
outlining thermal–hydraulic performance characteristics. Ismail
et al. [1] carried out a review of thermal–hydraulic performances
of compact offset strip plate-fin heat exchangers, which reflect
the significant progress made in the field during the last two
decades.
Norris and Spofford [2] were the first to determine the effects
that fin thickness, fin length, and fin pitch on the heat transfer coef-
ficient in offset strip fins. The comprehensive Colburn factor j and
friction factor f correlations for the offset strip fins were obtained
by Kays and London [3]. Briggs and London [4] determined the ef-
fects that fin pitch had on the thermal performance of offset rect-
angular-fin surfaces. Manson [5] conducted experiments with fin
geometries in addition to Kays and London’s experiment. Wieting
[6] tested 23 samples of offset strip fins and obtained empirical
⇑ Corresponding author. Address: No. 30 Pu Zhu South Road, Nanjing 211816,
Jiangsu Province, PR China. Tel.: +86 25 83587570; fax: +86 25 83600956.
E-mail addresses: phsight1@hotmail.com (H. Peng), xling@njut.edu.cn (X. Ling),
juanlee1130@163.com (J. Li).
and Yagi [7] made more accurate coefficients and exponents by
modifying those of Wieting [6]. Joshi and Webb [8] attempted to
identify the transition from laminar flow, and developed elaborate
analytical models to predict j and f factors. Sparrow and Hajiloo [9]
performed experiments to investigate the effect of fin thickness on
the Nusselt number and friction factor in offset strip plates. The ef-
fect of fin space, fin height, fin thickness, fin length and flow length
on the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics in 16 offset
strip fins was studied by Dong et al. [10]. The aforementioned
researchers used air as working fluid. Some studies have consid-
ered fluids other than air. For instance, Tinaut et al. [11] put
forward the correlations for heat transfer and flow friction charac-
teristics of offset strip fin heat exchangers using water and oil as
the working fluids. Hu and Herold [12] investigated the effect of
Prandtl number on offset strip fin heat exchanger performance that
used water and polyalphaolefin. Muzychka and Yovanovich [13]
modeled j and f factors for transverse flow through offset strip fins
using oil as working fluid. Peng and Ling [14,15] performed a series
of experimental studies of flow over offset strip fins at low Rey-
nolds number. Zeng et al. [16] analyzed the pressure drop and heat
transfer performances of a high-efficiency plate-fin structure. Seara
et al. [17] did the experimental analysis of a titanium brazed plate
heat exchanger with offset strip fins in liquid–liquid heat transfer
processes.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.enconman.2014.01.050
0196-8904/Ó 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
288 H. Peng et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 80 (2014) 287–297

Nomenclature

Ac cross section (m2) u air flow velocity (m/s)

Cf fin bending distance (m) Dt temperature difference (K)
De hydraulic diameter (m)
G mass flux (kg/m2 s) Greek symbols
H height of the numerical model (m) e dissipation rate of turbulence energy (m3 s2)
Hf fin height (m) k thermal conductivity (W/m K)
L effective length (m) m kinematic viscosity (m2/s)
Lf fin length (m) l dynamic viscosity (kg/(m s))
Nu Nusselt number lt turbulent dynamic viscosity (kg/(m s))
Pr Prandtl number c latent heat (kJ/kg)
Pf fin pitch (m) q density (kg/m3)
DP pressure drop (Pa) rk turbulent Prandtl numbers for diffusion of k
Q heat transfer rate (W) re turbulent Prandtl numbers for diffusion of e
R relative uncertainty U interface between the wall and fluid
Re Reynolds number
St Stanton number Subscripts
ST source term for energy equation L local
T temperature (K)
as air side
X independent variables ss steam side
cp specific heat (J/kg K) l liquid
f friction factor in inlet
j Colburn factor
out outlet
k turbulent kinetic energy (m2/s2) m mean value
m mass flow rate (kg/s) w wall
p pressure (Pa) s soild
q heat flux (W/m2)
su surface
tf fin thickness (m)
u velocity vector

Numerical studies have also been used to present in offset strip
fin heat exchangers. Patankar et al. [18], Amano [19] and Suzuki
[20] presented 2D numerical models to predict thermal–hydraulic
characteristics for offset strip fins, and the effects of fin thickness,
fin height, fin length and fin pitch were analyzed. Xi et al. [21] and
Shah et al. [22] performed an investigation with an array of offset
strip fins and reported the effects of fin length and fin thickness on
the friction factor and Colburn factor. Sparrow et al. [23] did
numerical analysis on a 3D offset strip-fin heat exchanger. Carluc-
cio and Starace [24] and Ismail et al. [25] developed a numerical
model of offset strip fins to predict the thermo-fluid–dynamic per-
formance in cross flow compact heat exchangers. Losier et al. [26]
determined the 3D effects of rounded fin edges and geometric
parameters on an offset strip-fin heat exchanger’s overall perfor-
mance. Kim et al. [27] established a numerical model of offset-strip
fins for various fin geometries and working fluids. The flow and
thermal characteristics of offset-strip fins were investigated and
general correlations of the offset-strip fins were derived. The most
recent study, done by Saad et al. [28,29], presented a CFD model to
investigate the phases and pressure drop distribution in offset strip
fin units.
This paper investigates the heat transfer Colburn factor j and
the friction factor f characteristics of an innovative offset strip fins
in compact heat exchangers (CHEs). Firstly, the effects of fin pitch,
fin length and fin bending distance on thermal–hydraulic perfor-
mance of novel offset strip fins are presented with the Reynolds
number ranging from 500 to 5000 at the air side. Then, the flow
and heat transfer characteristics in novel offset strip fins were ana-
lyzed numerically. The simulation results of j and f factors were
compared with the corresponding experimental data. Also the local
Nusselt number, temperature distribution and velocity vectors
were presented and discussed.
2. Experimental apparatus and method
2.1. Experimental apparatus
The experimental apparatus, schematically depicted in Fig. 1,
comprises a CHE, an open air channel, a closed steam-water cycle
and data acquisition system.
The CHE set up in a cross-flow (Fig. 2) and made of aluminum
which has high thermal conductivity and is low cost, and easily
processed. Of the many fin geometries described earlier, a novel
offset strip fins (Fig. 3) are considered in the present study. This
new fin has a physical geometry defined by fin height (Hf), fin
thickness (tf), fin pitch (Pf), fin length (Lf) and the fin bending dis-
tance (Cf). The fin bending distance is a major new feature compare
with the traditional offset strip fins.
In the present work, the fin height (Hf) and the fin thickness (tf)
are 9.5 mm and 0.2 mm, respectively. The fin pitch (Pf), the fin
length (Lf) and the fin bending distance (Cf) are varied as experi-
mental parameters. This study involves 5 CHEs with two fin
pitches, three fin lengths and two fin bending distances, illustrated
in Table 1.
An open air channel has a centrifugal fan, a test unit CHE, a web-
by section and a velocity measurement section. The cross section of
the test unit is 300 mm  200 mm (height  width). The centrifu-
gal fan is driven by a frequency controlled engine, sucks the re-
quired cooling air through the test unit, which allows for an air
flow rate of 10–120 m3/min.
The closed water-steam cycle has a boiler and the saturated
steam is generated and moves to the test unit CHE, where it con-
denses by the cold air. Then, the condensed water is returned to
the boiler, thus completing a closed cycle.
 H. Peng et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 80 (2014) 287–297 289

Fig. 1. Schematic diagram of experimental apparatus.

Fig. 2. Cross flow CHE.

Fig. 3. Diagram of innovative offset strip fin.

For data acquisition system, the air outlet and the steam inlet
Table 1
temperatures are measured by 17 pieces of type E thermocouples, Geometrical parameters of CHEs.
while the air inlet temperature is measured by Pt100 temperature
meter. These thermocouples are pre-calibrated and have an accu- No Hf (mm) tf (mm) Pf (mm) Lf (mm) Cf (mm)

racy of 0.1 K. The Pitot tube combined with a differential pressure 1 9.5 0.2 1.0 9.0 0.2
transducer is inserted to measure the air velocity, which has the 2 1.0 9.0 0.15
3 1.0 6.0 0.15
uncertainty of 1%. The condensed water flow rate and the pressure 4 1.0 3.0 0.15
drop at the air side are read by two differential pressure transduc- 5 1.5 9.0 0.15
ers, whose accuracy is 0.5%. The operating differential pressure
range is 0–20 kPa and 0–10 kPa, respectively. The measured data "   #1=2
DR Xn
DX i 2
are obtained using a National Instrument cDAQ-9178 series data ¼ ð1Þ
acquisition system for further analysis. R i¼1
Xi
The relative uncertainty analysis is studied using the estimation
method. Given a variable R, which is a function of n independent where DXi are the absolute uncertainties of Xi. By using the above
variables Xi = {x1, x2, . . . , xn}. The relative uncertainty of R can be method, the relative errors for the Colburn factor j and friction
determined: factor f are 2.95% and 3.32% respectively.
290 H. Peng et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 80 (2014) 287–297

2.2. Experimental procedure 3.2. Governing equations

In order to find out the effects of air Reynolds number (Re), the
fin pitch (Pf), the fin length (Lf) and the fin bending distance (Cf) on
the thermal–hydraulic performance of the CHEs, a series of tests
were carried out for the following conditions:
 Range of Reynolds number: 500 < Re < 5000.
 Air inlet temperature: ambient temperature.
 Steam inlet pressure: 0.12 MPa.
The five CHEs used in the experiments are presented in Table 1.
At the air side, the measurements of air flow rates and the tem-
peratures at the inlet and outlet of the test unit give the total heat
flux:
Q as ¼ mas cpas Dt as ð2Þ
At the steam side, the heat flux is calculated from the following
relation:
The assumptions made in the numerical simulation are as fol-
lows [30–32]: (a) the flow is stable and incompressible in the com-
putational domain; (b) thermal radiation and nature convection
are neglected; and (c) the thermophysical properties are tempera-
ture independent.
The Reynolds number based on the fin equivalent diameter
(De) varies from 500 to 5000 in the present study. At small values
of Re, the flow is laminar, and a laminar model is adopted. As Re
increases, the turbulent model should be applied for the simula-
tion. The value of Re, at which the flow begin to deviate from
the laminar is defined as the ‘point of transition’. It is denoted
by ReC. A criterion to predict the ReC in the flow is described
below.
Based on these approximations, the three-dimensional govern-
ing equations of mass, momentum and energy in the main flow are
as follows:
Mass:

Q ss ¼ mss css ð3Þ div ðquÞ ¼ 0 ð4Þ

The data were recorded at steady state conditions (heat balance Momentum (laminar flow: Re < ReC)
between cooling air side and steam side is low than 3%). The test
unit CHEs should be well insulated, so it is approximately that @ l 1 @p
ðui uj Þ ¼ l r2 ðui Þ  ð5Þ
the heat released by steam (Qss) corresponds to the heat absorbed @xj ql ql @xi
by the cooling air.
Momentum (standard ke equations [33] for turbulent flow:
Re > ReC)
3. Numerical simulation     
@k @k @ lt @k @ui @ui @uj
ql þ ql uj ¼ lþ þ lt þ  ql e
3.1. Model
@t @xj @xj rk @xj @xj @xj @xi
ð6Þ
The computational domain in this study was shown in Fig. 4.     
Considering the symmetry and periodicity of the CHE, The compu- @e @e @ lt @ e c1 e @ui @ui @uj
ql þ quk ¼ lþ þ l þ
tational domain (whole flow channel) was limited by two solid @t @xk @xk re @xk k t @xj @xj @xi
walls (upper and lower walls) corresponding to the median layers e2
of the aluminum plates separating the flows. Such several innova-  c2 ql ð7Þ
k
tive offset strip fin units, together with the above solid walls, were
set up in the center of the computational domain to eliminate the Energy:
l 
flow instability at the entrance. Two symmetry plans were set up
div ðqTuÞ ¼ div gradT þ ST ð8Þ
at the left and right side of the model. Pr

Fig. 4. Geometries of the computational model.

 H. Peng et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 80 (2014) 287–297 291

For the solid area, the energy equation is: (4) The coupling boundary condition was adopted at the inter-
2 face
 between fluid and solid.
ks r T s ¼ 0 ð9Þ @T w  @T l 
kw ¼ kl  ð12Þ
@n C @n C
3.3. 3D meshes
The CFD simulation was carried out using the Fluent 6.3.26 and
Gambit 2.3.16 in Think Station D30 with 32 GB RAM. The SIMPLE
The hexahedral mesh was used for the present simulations, as
algorithm and conjugate heat transfer were used to solve for the
illustrated in Fig. 5. In Fig. 5, the mesh consisted of two regions.
pressure–velocity field and energy equation. The second-order up-
One region lied close to the wall region, and it was discretized with
wind calculation scheme was used for continuity, momentum and
a fine mesh, in order to decrease the temperature gradients at the
energy equations. The solutions were then considered converged
near-wall region. A second region between the fins and the wall
once residual values for the continuity and momentum equations
consisted of a coarse mesh due to the relatively uniform flow in
reached 103 and the energy equation reached 108.
those areas.
Only one test sample CHE was studied in the grid independence
study. Three different meshes were chosen: a coarse mesh with 4. Colburn factor and friction factor deduction
178,416 hexahedral cells, a normal mesh with 233,168 hexahedral
cells, and a fine mesh with 507,036 hexahedral cells. The difference The thermal performance of compact heat exchanger depends
in the results obtained from this study showed that there was no on the structure of geometric sizes and flow conditions. For a given
more than a 3% difference in the pressure profiles between the fine set of conditions, Colburn factor j and a friction factor f are adopted
and normal meshes for the fin channel, and there was an insignif- for the fin performance evaluation.
icant difference in the pressure profiles between the normal The Colburn factor j and a friction factor f are defined:
meshes and coarse meshes. So, a normal mesh was adopted
throughout the entire numerical model in order to save the j ¼ StPr2=3 ð13Þ
computing time.
De 2
f ¼ DP ð14Þ
4L qu2
3.4. Boundary conditions and CFD approach
where the Prandtl number and Reynolds number are:
The boundary conditions were shown in Fig. 4: lc p
Pr ¼ ð15Þ
k
(1) At the inlet:
uDe
u ¼ uas;in ; T ¼ T as;in ð10Þ Re ¼ ð16Þ
m
(2) A pressure outlet boundary was used at the outlet of the
2ðHf  tf ÞðPf  t f Þ
model. De ¼ ð17Þ
(3) A non-slip boundary condition was used at the solid walls ðHf  t f Þ þ ðPf  t f Þ
and the standard wall functions were used to predict the The Stanton number can be evaluated by solving Eq. (18):
wall-bounded turbulent flow for Re > ReC.
qw
St ¼ ð18Þ
T w ¼ constant ð11Þ cp GðT m  T w Þ

Fig. 5. Mesh of computational model.

292 H. Peng et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 80 (2014) 287–297
where qw and Tm are:
Q
qw ¼
Ac
T in þ T out
Tm ¼
2
5. Results and discussion
5.1. Experimental results
5.1.1. Influence of fin pitch, length and bending distance on fin
performance
According to the fin scheme arrangement in Table 1, the influ-
ences of the geometrical parameters as fin pitch (Pf), fin length
(Lf) and fin bending distance (Cf) were investigated. The experi-
ments were performed considering a constant steam inlet pressure
(0.12 MPa) and eight different air flow rates. The Reynolds number
at the air side varies from 500 to 5000.
Fig. 6 shows the Colburn factor j and friction factor f of offset
strip fins varying in fin pitch (Pf) from 1.0 to 1.5 mm under differ-
ent air Reynolds numbers. It can be seen that, both j and f have a
descending slope for increasing the Reynolds number. Meanwhile,
the Colburn factor j is decreasing by increasing the fin pitch at the
same Reynolds number. This is due to an increase in fin pitch de-
creases the air side heat transfer area and also decreases the fin
efficiency.
For friction factor f, substituting De from Eqs. (11)–(14) yields
mRe DP
f ¼
2qL u3
Fig. 6. Influence of fin pitch on fin performance.
Obviously, friction factor f is determined by the ratio of DP to u3
at the identical Reynolds number. An increase in fin pitch creates a
ð19Þ larger flow area also decreases the flow resistance, allowing the
pressure drop values (DP) to decrease as the fin pitch increases.
Simultaneous with the increase of fin pitch, the hydraulic diameter
ð20Þ increases and the flow velocity u decreases for the same mass flow
rate. Both the two items perform predominantly, the friction factor
f increases indicates that u3 item drops more seriously than DP.
The influence of fin length (Lf) on its performance is shown in
Fig. 7. In the studied range from 3.0 mm to 9.0 mm, both the j
and f factors increase with the decrease of fin length. A decrease
of fin length creates a series of thicker boundary layers to develop,
thus the heat transfer rate will increase. For friction factors f, with
the increase of Lf, the fin number decrease for a fixed length in
CHEs, resulting in f factor reduction.
Corresponding studies on offset-strip fin parametrical are com-
monly seen in available literatures. However, the fin bending dis-
tance (Cf) is a new and significant parameter in the present
innovative fin. This parameter has evidence effect on fin perfor-
mance, which is shown in Fig. 8. As fin bending distance growth,
flow channel is shrunk and flow velocity is accelerated, which
are quite contrary to those caused by fin pitch. Thus their tenden-
cies are the opposite. In other words the Colburn factor j factor des-
cends but the friction factor f increases with fin bending distance
decrease.
ð21Þ
Fig. 7. Influence of fin length on fin performance.
 H. Peng et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 80 (2014) 287–297
Fig. 8. Influence of fin bending distance on fin performance.
5.1.2. Transition in the fins
Previous studies [8] have shown that, as the air flow rate is in-
creased through offset-strip fins, the wakes develop oscillating
velocities. These oscillating velocities affect the transport of energy
and momentum in the boundary layers on the fins, although the
boundary layers are still laminar. The flow and heat transfer char-
acteristics (j and f factors) were affected by the change in the wake
flow. It can be seen in Figs. 6–8, at small values of Re, the flow is
laminar, and a laminar model is applicable for predicting the j
and f values. As Reynolds number increases, the j and f curves
change slopes and the laminar model will then underpredict the
data. This change of slope occurs over a small Re range. In this pa-
per, the value of Re, at which the curves begin to deviate from the
straight laminar line is defined as the ‘point of transition’. It is
marked by ReC. The region Re < ReC is the laminar flow while the
region Re > ReC is the turbulent flow. Also, these CHEs operate at
500 < Re < 5000 in the present study. At Re = 5000, the turbulent
flow occurs on the fin arrays and a criterion to predict the ‘point
of transition’ is obtained from the above experimental data of 5
heat exchangers.
Reading from the experimental data (Figs. 6–8), the correspond-
ing ReC values at the j and f slope changes are in the range of 2000
to 2100, but the j values were chosen to obtained ReC because the
change in slopes of the j curves were observed to be sharper and
more easily identifiable.
293
Fig. 9. Comparison between numerical results and experimental data (conventional
offset strip fin).
5.2. Numerical simulation
5.2.1. Model validation
Kays and London [3] presented the experimental data for Col-
burn factor j and friction factor f for conventional offset strip fins.
In order to validate the present numerical model, simulations are
carried out at the same geometric sizes and operating conditions
of conventional offset strip fins as presented in their work. The
computation is conducted using the present method. The fin height
is 9.525 mm, fin pitch is 1.82 mm, fin length is 3.175 mm, fin thick-
ness is 0.25 mm and the Reynolds number is from 300 to 4500.
The comparison between numerical and experimental results is
shown in Fig. 9. The computational results agree well with the
experimental data, the maximum deviation is 6.4% for Colburn fac-
tor j and 5% for friction factor f, respectively. The agreement be-
tween numerical and experimental results is acceptable, which
proves that the model and method used in the present study are
feasible and reliable.
5.2.2. Temperature field and flow field distribution
Taking CHE 2 for example, the air inlet temperature is 323 K and
the air velocity is 20 m/s. The temperature of the solid walls is
365 K. The corresponding Reynolds value calculated at the inlet
section is 1885.
294 H. Peng et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 80 (2014) 287–297
Fig. 10. Air temperature (a) and air velocity (a) distributions in numerical
simulation.
The air temperature and velocity contours on a vertical and hor-
izontal plane are shown in Fig. 10. Fig. 10a shows the temperature
distributions near the walls and in the flow on vertical planes (in-
let, center and outlet) of fins. From Fig. 10a, it is clear that the tem-
perature difference between fluid and solid walls is larger at the
entrance and decreases fast through the flow direction. As shown
in median vertical plane, the temperature gradient in the near wall
region is much higher than that in the fluid flow core. It is due to
the development of the thermal boundary layer. In Fig. 10b, some
zones with high air velocity and others of stagnation due to the fins
can be observed. The lowest values for air velocity are near the fin
wall where the flow impacts on the wall thickness and its bound-
ary layer is forced to separate.
The heat flow velocity contours in horizontal cross section at
different Reynolds numbers are shown in Fig. 11. Due to periodi-
cally obstructed, the cyclical bending streamline along the cross-
section channel with the fin is shaped. The secondary flows with
slow velocity are clearly illustrated near the fin surface. The
Fig. 11. Flow velocity contours at different Reynolds numbers/(m/s).
hydraulic diameter of flow channel changes along the flow direc-
tion, which flow is suddenly shrunken and expanded. The flow
velocity is boosted for cross section suddenly shrunken, which dis-
turb the secondary flow strongly. The longitudinal vortex would be
produced. In fact, this movement increases the flow intensity in
channel leading to the heat transfer enhanced.
Two structure models with different fin lengths (Lf = 9.0 mm,
Lf = 3.0 mm) are simulated. The results are displayed in Fig. 12.
The flow velocity contours at the Reynolds number of 1885 show
that for the lower fin length of 9 mm, the heat transfer area is lar-
ger, the interruption of the wall boundary layers is stronger and
the mixing is more serious produced by longitudinal vortex shed-
ding as well as unsteady secondary flow motions are induced by
the cuboid fin. Above combined effects induce that the fins with
lower fin length have the higher thermal performance and pressure
drop than that of fins with high fin length.
5.2.3. Numerical simulation comparison with experimental data
The overall Colburn factor j and the friction factor f were deter-
mined by equations given in Section 4. Numerical simulations
were made for Reynolds numbers from 500 to 5000 according to
the experiments. The comparisons of Colburn factor j and friction
factor f between the experimental data and the numerical simula-
tion are shown in Fig. 13. It can be seen that the computed Colburn
factor j and friction factor f decreases for the increase of Reynolds
number, and this trend is described in the experimental data pre-
viously. The maximum deviations were approximately 7.9% of Col-
burn factor j and 4.8% of friction factor f, respectively. From above
phenomena, although both tendencies of the present experimental
data and simulated results agree well, their values vary evidently.
 H. Peng et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 80 (2014) 287–297 295

Fig. 12. Flow velocity contours with different fin length/(m/s).

Fig. 13. Comparison between experimental data and numerical simulation.

In Fig. 13(a), the offset between the experimental and numerical

data for Colburn factor j is shown to increase with increasing Rey-
nolds number. And in Fig. 13(b), it is also clear that the friction fac-
tor f obtained by experiments is greater than the simulation
results. The reason is that the effects of burred fin ends and the
roughness on the top and bottom walls of the fin channel are not
considered in the numerical models. Burred fin ends are caused
by the shearing process used in their manufacture, and the rough-
ness results from bending continuous metal strips into rectangular
shapes. Burred fin ends increase the form drag thus raises the over-
all friction and the surface roughness may cause an increase in
both heat transfer and friction.

5.2.4. Local and average heat transfer characteristics

The heat transfer behavior and mechanism can be better under-
stood from local Nusselt number (Nu) distribution along the com-
putational domain. The local Nusselt number is expressed as:
qw De
NuL ¼
kðT su;C  T w Þ
A detailed analysis of the local Nusselt number Nu at different
locations is showed in Figs. 14 and 15. Fig. 14 shows the Nusselt
number versus the normalized height (y/H) of the flow channel.
The local Nu values were calculated at the entrance, in the center
and the outlet along the computational domain. The local Nu val-
ues were higher at the entrance and showed decreasing values
through the flow directions. This was because the decrease of the
temperature difference between the fluid and the solid walls
Fig. 14. Local Nu versus normalized height of flow channel.
ð22Þ
resulting in a lower heat transfer rate along the flow channel. For
each curve, the trends are very similar, that the higher values of
Nu can be found in the region of 0.2 < y/H < 0.8 of the channel
where the air flow is faster and finds easily its way through the
channel.
In Fig. 15, the compassion among the average Nusselt number
with different air Reynolds numbers was observed. It can be seen
that with the increase of air flow velocity (the corresponding Re
296 H. Peng et al. / Energy Conversion and Management 80 (2014) 287–297
Fig. 15. Average Nu versus normalized height at different Reynolds number.
is from 500 to 5000), the average Nusselt number linearly
increases, resulting in a higher heat transfer rate.
6. Conclusions
In this paper, the flow and heat transfer characteristics of inno-
vative offset strip fins in CHEs were investigated both experimen-
tally and numerically. The effects of geometric parameters were
presented at various Reynolds number. Also the local Nusselt num-
ber, temperature distribution and velocity vectors were discussed.
Key findings of this study were:
1. The thermal–hydraulic performance for 5 offset strip fins have
been analyzed and are shown to be affected by the fin geomet-
ric parameters Lf, Pf and Cf. along with the Reynolds numbers. At
the same Reynolds number, the Colburn factor j is decreasing
and the friction factor f is increasing by increasing the fin pitch
(Pf); the j and f factors increase with the decrease of fin length
(Lf); and the Colburn factor j factor descends but the friction fac-
tor f increases with fin bending distance (Cf) decrease.
2. The ‘point of transition’ (2000 < ReC < 2100) that describe the
transition of the data in the deep laminar and fully turbulent
regions has been developed.
3. The vortexes are generated near the fin region, where the turbu-
lence intensity enhanced by fin obstruct periodically, which
increase velocity gradient to reduce the thickness of boundary
layer to improve heat transfer.
4. The local Nu values was higher at the entrance and showed
decreasing values through the flow directions. Furthermore,
with the increase of air flow velocity, the average Nusselt num-
ber linearly increases, resulting in a higher heat transfer rate.
Overall, the results are dimensionless and could be used to de-
sign CHEs directly. The results revealed how fin length, fin pitch
and fin bending distance can affect performance. More general
studies on the effects of fin heights, fin thickness, and fin materials
can now be undertaken to enrich the database of the innovative
fin’s performances in CHEs.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by
Natural Science Fund project in Jiangsu Province (Grant No.
SBK201121011), Collegiate Natural Science Fund of Jiangsu Prov-
ince (Grant No. 10KJB480002), National Natural Science Founda-
tion of China (No. 51176071) and National Key Technology
Research and Development Program (2012BAA07B02).
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