Investigations on the heat transfer performance of edge-shaped finned-tubes

The third generation enhanced heat transfer technologies, such as three-dimensional fin and dimple, are still important means of improving energy efficiency and will continue to be challenging issues. This paper concentrates on the analysis of the condensation heat transfer performance of an edge-shaped finned-tube fabricated by extrusion–ploughing process. Experimental results show that the overall heat transfer coefficient increases with increases of volumetric flow rate of cold water and heat flux whereas the shell side heat transfer coefficient decreases with volumetric flow rate and heat flux increasing. At the similar volumetric flow rate, the shell side heat transfer coefficient of the edge-shaped finned-tube is 4–6 times larger than that of the smooth tube. At the similar volumetric flow rate, the shell side heat transfer coefficient of edge-shaped finned-tube increases with ploughing depth increasing. At the same temperature difference between wall and vapor, the shell side heat transfer coefficient is also higher than what had been reported in the literature.