Liquid crystal technique application for heat transfer investigation in a fin-tube heat exchanger element

The use of thermochromic liquid crystal technique (LCT) and true-colour image processing system in heat transfer modelling is described. Experimental procedure, led on rig at Technical University of Gdansk, cover full-field flow patterns in heat exchanger element (flat plate with fine-tubes in-line, staggered and with vortex generators) describing local heat transfer coefficient and Nusselt number on the surfaces. Also the dependence of average heat transfer and pressure drop on Reynolds number and geometrical parameters is investigated.