Experiments on a Three-Row Fin and Tube Heat Exchanger

A brief addendum is presented to a previously reported experimental study of air-side transfer characteristics of one- and two-row plate fin and tube heat exchanger configurations. The experiments were performed as mass transfer studies using the naphthalene sublimation technique, with corresponding heat transfer results being obtainable via the analogy between heat and mass transfer. Quantitative results were given for the local and average transfer coefficients. Various transfer mechanisms were identified, the most remarkable being the vortices which develop in front of the tubes and are swept around the sides. An extension of the original research program to include configurations with three staggered rows of tubes has recently been carried out, and the results are reported.