Heat and mass transfer performances on plate fin and tube heat exchangers with dehumidification

Abstract

The authors discuss how they conducted an experimental study on the air side performance of a single-row plate fin and tube heat exchanger in moist air where mass transfer exist under a relatively low driving potential. The results are as follows: The heat transfer with dehumidification is about 20% greater than that with only sensible heat transfer. Also the air side pressure drop is about 30-40% greater. The reason, as clarified by visual observations, comes from the condensate effect. To study how the condensate film affects performance, the presence of the stagnant condensate in the heat exchanger was modeled as an apparent change of the heat exchanger geometry, and the equivalent thickness of the condensate film was calculated from the increase in the air side pressure drop. As a result, if the presence of condensate in the heat exchanger is considered, then the heat transfer with dehumidification can be treated in the same way as with only sensible heat transfer. The analogy between heat and mass transfer does not strictly hold, the experimental results being closed to the Lewis Law.