Assessment of Tube–Fin Contact Materials in Heat Exchangers: Guidelines for Simulation and Experiments

László Budulski, Gábor Loch, László Lenkovics, Mihály Baumann, Balázs Cakó, Tamás Zsebe, Zoltán Meiszterics, Gyula Ferenc Vasvári, Boldizsár Kurilla, Tamás Bitó, Géza György Várady and Dávid Csonka ()
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László Budulski: Department of Building Services and Building Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Gábor Loch: Department of Building Services and Building Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
László Lenkovics: Department of Building Services and Building Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Mihály Baumann: Department of Building Services and Building Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Balázs Cakó: Department of Building Services and Building Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Tamás Zsebe: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Zoltán Meiszterics: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Gyula Ferenc Vasvári: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Boldizsár Kurilla: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Tamás Bitó: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Géza György Várady: Autonomous Technologies and Drones Research Team, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary
Dávid Csonka: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology, University of Pécs, 7624 Pécs, Hungary

Energies, 2024, vol. 17, issue 22, 1-16

Abstract: This paper describes experiments on finned tube heat exchangers, focusing on reducing the thermal contact resistance at the contact between the pipe and the lamella. Various contact materials, such as solders and adhesives, were investigated. Several methods of establishing contact were tested, including blowtorch soldering, brazing, and furnace soldering. Thermal camera measurements were carried out to assess the performance of the contact materials. Moreover, finite element analysis was performed to evaluate the contact materials and establish guidelines in the fin–tube connection modeling by comparing simplified models with the realistic model. Blowtorch brazing tests were successful while soldering attempts failed. During the thermographic measurements, reflective surfaces could be measured after applying a thin layer of paint with high emissivity. These measurements did not provide valuable results; thus, the contact materials were assessed using a finite element analysis. The results from the finite element analysis showed that all the inspected contact materials provided better heat transfer than not using a contact material. The heat transfer rate of the tight-fit realistic model was found to be 33.65 for air and 34.9 for the Zn-22Al contact material. This finding could be utilized in developing heat exchangers with higher heat transfer with the same size.

Keywords: heat exchanger; contact material; thermal conductivity; soldering; brazing; thermal resistance; thermal imaging; finite element analysis (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: 2024
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