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Heat transfer and temperature distribution of different fin geometry using

numerical method

Article in JP Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer · September 2012

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 JP Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer
Volume 6, Number 3, 2012, Pages 223-234
Available online at http://pphmj.com/journals/jphmt.htm
Published by Pushpa Publishing House, Allahabad, INDIA

HEAT TRANSFER AND TEMPERATURE

DISTRIBUTION OF DIFFERENT FIN GEOMETRY
USING NUMERICAL METHOD

P. Mathiazhagan and S. Jayabharathy

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Pondicherry Engineering College
Pondicherry, India
e-mail: pmathi@pec.edu

Abstract

Convective heat dissipation from the metal surface can be significantly

increased by the use of fins. Heat transfer from the fin involves
a complex conjugate system of conduction and convection. The
influence of the fin parameter, fin geometry, base and environment
temperature on the fin have been considered. The purpose of this study
is to describe the application of analytical method for the estimation of
heat transfer and temperature distribution of different fin profiles. The
performance analysis is carried out using the analytical and numerical
methods. The result shows that the rate of heat transfer is high for the
triangular fin, followed by pin fin and rectangular fin. To assess the
correctness of the analytical method, the results are compared against
finite difference method (FDM).

Notation

Ac Cross sectional area (m 2 )

Af Surface area of fin (m 2 )

© 2012 Pushpa Publishing House
Keywords and phrases: aluminum fin, fin geometry, FDM.
Received December 23, 2011
224 P. Mathiazhagan and S. Jayabharathy

h Convection heat transfer coefficient ( W m 2 k )

k Thermal conductivity ( W mk )

L Length of fin (m )

n Nodal point
P Perimeter of pin (m )

Q Rate of heat loss from fin ( W )

T Temperature (°C )

T0 Base temperature (°C )

T∞ Ambient temperature (°C )

x Axial location (m )

η Fin efficiency

θ( x ) Excess temperature (°C )

θ0 T 0 − T ∞ (°C )

1. Introduction

Extended surface is used specially to enhance the heat transfer rate

between a solid and an adjoining fluid. Such an extended surface is termed a
fin. If thin strips (fins) of metals are attached to the basic surface, extending
into one fluid, the total surface for heat transfer is thereby increased. Thus the
fins find numerous applications in electrical apparatus in which generated
heat must be efficiently dissipated. Recently, finned surface are widely used
in compact heat exchanges that are used in many applications such as air
conditioners, aircraft, chemical process, plants, etc. The fin involves
combined effects of conduction and convection of heat transfer and
temperature distribution along the geometry of the materials. The combined
effect of heat transfer of fin is very important from a practical application
point of view. Taking this point under consideration, the present work is to
 Heat Transfer and Temperature Distribution of Different Fin … 225

compare the heat transfer rate and temperature distribution of different fin
geometry using the analytical and numerical methods (FDM).

2. Method of Analysis of Fins

2.1. Analytical solution

The analytical solution of uniform cross-sectional area fins can be found
in many literatures [4]. The fin is assumed to be infinitely long (i.e., the tip of
the fin is at the same temperature as the adjacent fluid).
The following assumptions are considered:
• One-dimensional conduction in the x-direction.
• Steady state conditions.
• Constant thermal conductivity.
• No heat generation.
• Constant and uniform convective heat transfer coefficient over the
entire surface.
• Negligible radiation from the surface.

Under the above assumptions, the energy equation and boundary conditions
can be written as
(d 2T dx 2 ) − m 2 (T − T∞ ) = 0, (1)

T (0) = T0 , (2)

T ( L → ∞ ) = T∞ , (3)

where m = (hP kAc ).

The temperature distribution in the fin is
T ( x ) = T∞ + (T0 − T∞ ) exp(− mx ). (4)

The total heat transfer by the fin

Q= hPkAc (T0 − T∞ ). (5)

226 P. Mathiazhagan and S. Jayabharathy

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of pin fin.

The differential equation for fin of variable cross-sectional area

(triangular fin) is

d 2 θ dx 2 + (1 x ) dθ dx − Bθ x = 0. (6)

Using modified Bessel function, the solution for the above equation is

θ = AI 0 (2 B ( x )) + BK 0 ( 2 B x ). (7)

For long fin

θ θ0 = I 0 (2 B ( x )) I 0 ( 2 B ( L )). (8)

The temperature distribution along the triangular fin is given by the equation

T ( x ) = T∞ + (T0 − T∞ ) [I 0 (2 B ( x )) I 0 (2 B ( L ))], (9)

B= 2 Lh kt ,

B = 4.024.

Simplifying the equation,

T ( x ) = 30 + 0.1853I 0 (8.084 ( x )).

 Heat Transfer and Temperature Distribution of Different Fin … 227

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of triangular fin.

2.2. Fin efficiency

The fin efficiency, η, is defined as the ratio of the actual heat transfer
through the fin to the ideal heat transfer through the fin if the entire fin
surface were at fin base temperature. For the present, efficiency of the fin can
be expressed by:
ηlong fin = 1 mL. (10)

2.3. Finite difference method

The numerical method solution is employed to determine the temperature
distribution of fins. The finite-difference numerical scheme is described by
Chapra and Canale [5]. In this method, the differential equation of heat
conduction is approximated by a set of algebraic equations for temperature at
a number of nodal points. Therefore, the first step in the analysis is the
transformation of the differential equation of heat conduction in the fin into a
set of algebraic equations (i.e., the finite-difference representation of the
differential equation).
The energy balance of internal node for the fin and the temperatures at
boundaries are prescribed; that is, T (0 ) = T0 and T ( L ) = T∞ . The fin is
divided into N sub-regions, each Δx = L N and the node temperature is
denoted by T n , n = 0 , 1, 2 , ..., N . The resulting general form of the finite-
228 P. Mathiazhagan and S. Jayabharathy

difference equation for the internal node ( i.e., n = 1, 2 , ..., N − 1) is:

Q cond, left + Q cond, right + Q convection = ΔE Δt ,

ΔE Δt = 0 (Steady state).

Hence

Q c, left + Q c, right + Q convection = 0.

According to Fourier law:

Q = kA( dT dx ).

Along the length, L,

Q = kA( ΔT L ) ,

Q c, left = kAc ( Tm −1 − Tm ) Δx,

Q c, right = kAc ( Tm − Tm +1 ) Δx,

Q convection = hAs ( T∞ − Tm ).

The general form of the finite-difference equation for the internal node

kAc Δx ( Tm −1 − Tm ) + kAc Δx ( Tm +1 − Tm ) + hPΔx( T∞ − Tm ) = 0.

The equation becomes

kAc ( Tm −1 − Tm ) + kAc ( Tm +1 − Tm ) + hPΔx 2 ( T∞ − Tm ) = 0.

Therefore,

ATm −1 − 2 ATm + ATm +1 + BT∞ − BTm = 0,

ATm −1 − (2 A + B )Tm + ATm +1 = − BT∞ .

Now applying at the node points

m =1 : AT0 − ( 2 A + B )T1 + AT2 = − BT∞

m=2 : AT1 − ( 2 A + B )T 2 + AT3 = − BT∞

 Heat Transfer and Temperature Distribution of Different Fin … 229

m=3 : AT2 − ( 2 A + B )T3 + AT4 = − BT∞

m=4 : AT3 − ( 2 A + B )T 4 + AT5 = − BT∞

m=5 : AT4 − ( A + B )T5 = − BT∞ .

Triangular fin:

∑ Q = 0,
Q c, left + Q c, right + Q convection = 0,

kAc Δx ( Tm −1 − Tm ) + kAc Δx ( Tm +1 − Tm ) + hPΔx( T∞ − Tm ) = 0. (11)

The equation becomes

[1 − ( m − 0.5 ) Δx L ] ( T m −1 − T m ) + [1 − ( m + 0.5 ) ] ( T m +1 − T m )

+ hΔx 2 kL sin θ ( T∞ − Tm ) = 0.

2.4. Geometries and materials

The geometry which is proposed in the present work is shown in Figures
1-2. The fin materials are considered aluminum alloys and the specifications
are given in Table 1.

Table 1. Specification
Pin fin Rectangular fin Triangular fin
n=5 n=5 n=5
k = 180W/mK k = 180W/mK k = 180W/mK
L = 900 mm L = 900 mm L = 900 mm
D = 9.5 mm t = 5.43 mm, w = 9.5 mm t = 7.1 mm, w = 9.5 mm

3. Result and Discussions

The temperature distribution along the fin was calculated for the base
temperature at 90°C. For all these conditions, the temperature at the tip of fin
was the same as that of air. It was found that the temperature profile of the
230 P. Mathiazhagan and S. Jayabharathy

triangular fin is having quick conduction rate when compared with other fins.
The calculated values are shown in Table 2 and Figure 3.

Table 2. Temperature distribution of varying geometry

Distance (x) Pin fin Rectangular fin Triangular fin
(mm) (°C) (°C) (°C)
Base(0) 90.1 90.1 90.1
100 65.63 66.86 72.3
200 51.16 52.64 56.80
300 42.51 43.91 47.37
400 37.46 38.54 40.35
500 34.43 35.25 35.88
600 32.63 33.22 33.35
700 31.56 31.98 30.64
800 30.92 31.21 30.69
900 30.55 30.75 30.25
1000 30.32 30.45 30.1
1100 30.19 30.28 30.09

100

90
PinFin
Rectangular Fin
80
Triangular Fin

70
Temperature (°C )

60

50

40

30

20

10

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200
Distance x(mm)

Figure 3. Temperature profile of different fin geometry.

 Heat Transfer and Temperature Distribution of Different Fin … 231

A higher slope can be observed near the base of the rectangular fin and
pin fin compared to triangular fin due to the maximum temperature
difference between fin surface and the surrounding medium at the base. The
temperature distribution values were calculated using the analytical and
numerical methods and are presented in Table 3. The values are closer to
each other for all geometry fins. The rate of heat transfer by the fin and its
efficiency are also calculated using equations (5) and (10), respectively. Rate
of heat transfer by the fin increases linearly with respect to the base
temperature as shown in Table 4 and Figure 4.

Table 3. Temperature distribution at different nodal points

Distance x Analytical solution Numerical solution
(mm) pin fin (°C) pin fin (°C)
Base (0) 90.1 90.1
180 53.49 54.47
360 41.45 41.24
540 33.602 33.14
720 31.14 31.36
900 30.55 29.98

Distance x Analytical solution Numerical solution

(mm) rectangular fin (°C) rectangular fin (°C)
Base(0) 90.1 90.1
180 54.963 53.724
360 40.386 39.85
540 34.32 33.94
720 31.79 31.24
900 30.75 29.772
232 P. Mathiazhagan and S. Jayabharathy

Distance x Analytical solution Numerical solution

(mm) triangular fin (°C) triangular fin (°C)
Base(0) 90.1 90.1
180 31.026 31.455
360 34.22 32.79
540 42.45 43.659
720 53.12 57.502
900 30.09 29.816

Table 4. Heat transfer rate in different fin geometry

Temperature Pin fin Rectangular fin Triangular fin
(°C) (W) (W) (W)
73.8 2.9 2.48 3.77
90.1 3.99 3.407 5.08
109.2 5.26 4.49 6.70
132.1 6.78 5.78 8.64

10

9
Pin fin
Rectangular fin
8
Tri angular fin

7
Heat transfer rate (W)

0
60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140

Base temperature (°C)

Figure 4. Heat transfer rate of different fin geometry.

 Heat Transfer and Temperature Distribution of Different Fin … 233

The estimated efficiency data are shown in Table 5 and Figure 5, the
result shows that the triangular fin is having better efficiency than other fins.

Table 5. Efficiency of the fin

Pin fin Rectangular fin Triangular fin
21.36 22.79 26.05

Efficiency comparison Fin of Different Geometry

30

26.05

25
22.79
21.36

20
Efficiency(%)

15

10

0
Pin Fin Rectangular Fin Triangular Fin
Fin Geometry

Figure 5. Comparison of fin efficiency.

4. Conclusion

Analytical and numerical values are calculated for temperature

distribution and heat transfer for the different geometry of the fin at the base
temperature 90°C. The following results were obtained:

1. Numerical and analytical results are comparable and the values were
found close to each other. The approximate error is around 1%.

2. Temperature distribution and heat transfer rate are higher for

triangular fin when compared with other fins.

3. Main advantage of triangular fin is that it utilizes minimum material

and hence this is most economical.
 234 P. Mathiazhagan and S. Jayabharathy

References

[1] H. I. Abu-Mulaweh, Integration of a fin experiment into the undergraduate heat

transfer laboratory, Inter. J. Mech. Eng. Edu. 33(1) (2005), 83-92.
[2] Ganesh Murali and Subrahmanya S. Katte, Experiment investigation of heat
transfer enhancements in radiating pin fin, Jordan J. Mech. Indust. Eng. 2(3)
(2008), 163-167.
[3] N. Sahiti, F. Durst and A. Dewan, Heat transfer enhancement by pin elements,
Inter. J. Heat Mass Trans. 48 (2005), 4738-4747.
[4] M. N. Ozisik, Heat Transfer, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1985.
[5] S. C. Chapra and R. P. Canale, Numerical Methods for Engineers, McGraw-Hill,
New York, 1998.
[6] D. Q. Kern and A. D. Kraus, Extended Surface Heat Transfer, McGraw-Hill,
1972.

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