Hierarchical Deployment of Vortex Generators for Wake Management in Finned-Tube Heat Exchanger

While developing thermal management systems, volumetric compactness of the heat exchange module is a critical design factor. This three-dimensional computational analysis seeks to boost the thermal compactness of fin-and-tube heat exchangers by employing winglet-type vortex generators. Due to the fact that the thermo-hydraulic performance of vortex generators in such thermal systems is determined by three distinct design parameters, namely the attack angle, spatial location, and geometric aspect ratio, a concurrent parametric analysis of all three design parameters is conducted to gain a thorough understanding. In addition, regression analysis is applied to develop functional correlations that can predict the enhanced thermo-hydraulic performance of the heat exchangers. The improvements in wake-affected heat transfer brought on by the modifications are also specifically explored, along with other aspects of the augmentation mechanism. The highest thermal augmentation over the wake-affected fin is seen as 120%. Based on a thermo-hydraulic tradeoff, the friction factor increases exponentially with the attack angle, and the rate of increase is lowest for 15-30 degree range of attack angle and highest for 45-60 degree range. Certainly, there are multiple locations where winglets can be erected, and heat transfer enhancement by each potential location incurs linearized increase in the friction factor.