Experimental Verification of an Analytical Mathematical Model of a Round or Oval Tube Two-Row Car Radiator

Dawid Taler, Jan Taler and Marcin Trojan
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Dawid Taler: Department of Thermal Processes, Air Protection, and Waste Utilization, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland
Jan Taler: Institute of Thermal Power Engineering, Cracow University of Technology, 31-864 Cracow, Poland
Marcin Trojan: Department of Thermal Processes, Air Protection, and Waste Utilization, Cracow University of Technology, 31-155 Cracow, Poland

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 13, 1-23

Abstract: The paper presents an analytical mathematical model of a car radiator, which takes into account various heat transfer coefficients (HTCs) on each row of pipes. The air-side HTCs in a specific row of pipes in the first and second passes were calculated using equations for the Nusselt number, which were determined by CFD simulation by the ANSYS program (Version 19.1, Ansys Inc., Canonsburg, PA, USA). The liquid flow in the pipes can be laminar, transition, or turbulent. When changing the flow form from laminar to transition and from transition to turbulent, the HTC continuity is maintained. Mathematical models of two radiators were developed, one of which was made of round tubes and the other of oval tubes. The model allows for the calculation of the thermal output of every row of pipes in both passes of the heat exchangers. Small relative differences between the total heat flow transferred in the heat exchanger from hot water to cool air exist for different and uniform HTCs. However, the heat flow rate in the first row is much higher than the heat flow in the second row if the air-side HTCs are different for each row compared to a situation where the HTC is constant throughout the heat exchanger. The thermal capacities of both radiators calculated using the developed mathematical model were compared with the results of experimental studies. The plate-fin and tube heat exchanger (PFTHE) modeling procedure developed in the article does not require the use of empirical correlations to calculate HTCs on both sides of the pipes. The suggested method of calculating plate-fin and tube heat exchangers, taking into account the different air-side HTCs estimated using CFD modelling, may significantly reduce the cost of experimental research for a new design of heat exchangers implemented in manufacturing.

Keywords: tube heat exchanger with plate-fins; air-side Nusselt number; various heat transfer equations in each tube row; CFD modelling; empirical heat transfer equation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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