An Experimental Study on the Effects of Design Factors for the Performance of Fin-Tube Heat Exchanger Under Frosting Conditions

착상시 설계인자에 따른 핀-관 열교환기의 성능변화에 관한 실험적 연구

In this study, the effects of design factors of finned-tube heat exchanger, such as fin spacing and fin array on the frost growth and heat exchanger performance are investigated under a frosting condition. The results show that the amount of frost, frost density and blockage ratio of air flow passage increase with decreasing fin spacing. Heat transfer rate increases momentarily at the initial stage of frosting and then decreases. After that heat transfer rate continues to increase again to reach a maximum value and then decreases dramatically. It is shown that the time required for heat transfer rate to reach a maximum value becomes shorter with decreasing fin spacing, and after a maximum value, heat transfer rate decreases very fast. The maximum allowable blockage ratio is introduced to determine the operation limit of a finned-tube heat exchanger operating under frosting condition and is obtained as a function of fin spacing. It is also shown that heat transfer rate of heat exchanger with staggered fin array increases about 17% and the amount of pressure drop of air increases about 1~2 mmH$_{2}$O, compared with those of in-line type heat exchanger under frosting condition.