A fast running numerical model based on the implementation of volume forces for prediction of pressure drop in a fin tube heat exchanger

Numerical based design of geometrical structures is common when studying systems involving heat exchangers, a central component in several fields, such as industrial, vehicle and household systems. The geometrical structure of heat exchangers is generally comprised by closely placed fins and tube bundles. The creation of a mesh grid for a geometrically compact heat exchanger will result in a dense structure, which is not feasible for personal computer usage. Hence, volume forces were created based on Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS) on a Flow Representative Volume (FRV) of a tube fin heat exchanger in an internal duct system of a heat pump tumble dryer. A relation of the volume averaged velocity and the volume averaged force was established in two different FRV models with a finite element simulation in COMSOL. This relation was subsequently used to create flow resistance coefficients based on volume averaged expressions of fluid velocity and volume forces. These flow resistance coefficients were implemented in two respective porous models, which represent the entire heat exchanger except the interior arrangements of fins and tube bundles. Hence, the computation time was reduced thanks to the absence of a dense mesh grid. Experimental results of the entire heat exchanger showed good agreement with the second porous model in terms of pressure drop and volume flow rate.