1.5. Application of Extended Surfaces To Heat Exchangers: 1.5.1. The Concept of The Controlling Resistance

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1.5.

Application of Extended Surfaces to Heat Exchangers


1.5.1. The Concept of the Controlling Resistance
Examination of Eqs. (1.18), (1.19), or (1.20) shows that, if any one of the terms in the denominator on the right hand
side is substantially larger than the others, it essentially fixes the value of U. Since each of these terms is a resistance to
heat transfer, the term that dominates is called the "controlling resistance," and the designer needs to devote particular
attention to its value.

As noted in the previous section, one heat transfer coefficient may be much lower than the other, and this coefficient is
the one that leads to a high resistance for heat transfer. Thus, a low coefficient corresponds to a high, and frequently
controlling, resistance.

One way to minimize the adverse effects of a low heat transfer coefficient is to place that stream on the shell side of a
heat exchanger and use extended surface to increase the ratio of the outside to inside area (A
o
/A
i
) to offset the low value
of h
o
.
1.5.2. Types of Extended Surface
"Extended surface" is a term that covers many possibilities but the type that we shall be most concerned with is the
round tube with round fins essentially transverse to the tube axis. Typical integral finned tubes are shown in Fig. 1.48.

The low-finned tube commonly used in shell and tube
exchangers provides about 3 to 4 times as much outside
area as inside; i.e., A
o
/A
i
is about 3 to 4. In the
Wolverine S/T type, fin counts of 16 to 40 per inch are
available. The outside diameter of the fins is just slightly
less than that of the bare tube at the ends, so the tube can
be inserted through the tube sheet holes. The wall under
the fins is controlled to a specified thickness, and the
wall at the plain ends is about two gauges heavier. For
tube support at baffles, unfinned sections ("lands") are
available.

A medium-fin height tube with 11 fins per inch is also
used in shell and tube exchangers, and has an A
o
/A
i
ratio
typically about 5.

The high-fin tube is used to advantage when gases are to
be heated or cooled or when a process stream is to be
air-cooled. High-fin tubes come in a wide variety of fin
heights, thicknesses, and spacings, giving values of A
o
/A
i
up to 25. For corrosion protection, a mechanically bonded
liner tube may be used inside the finned tube. The liner can be made of corrosion-resistant alloy, while the outer tube
and fins are made of a high conductivity metal such as copper or aluminum to improve heat transfer.
Fig 1.48. Several types of Wolverine Trufin Tubing

All of the finned tubes produced by Wolverine have integral fins, i.e., the fins are formed from the base tube by an
extrusion process so that the final tube and its fins are one piece of metal.

For high-finned tubes, other fin types exist in which the fin is a separate piece of metal wrapped on the tube. The fin is
usually held in place only by the tension of the deformed fin metal or occasionally by soldering, welding or brazing the
fin to the tube. In these finned tubes, contact resistance between the fin and the tube is an important consideration. Even
if the fin is originally in good thermal contact, repeated thermal cycling can result in creep and partial separation of the
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fin. Also, the crevice between fin and tube provides a possible site for corrosion with consequent increase in contact
resistance and possibly accelerated failure of the tube.
1.5.3. Fin Efficiencies and Related Concepts
Consideration of the heat flow path from the tube-side fluid through the tube wall, and fins, and into the fin side fluid
reveals that the distance which the heat must flow' is longer than in the corresponding plain tube case. It is true that the
additional distance is through the usually highly conductive fin metal, but there is still an additional resistance to the
flow of heat, which partially offsets the advantage of the
extended surface. In order to take account of this resistance
in our calculations, we define a "fin efficiency, " , in the
following manner: is the ratio of the total heat transferred
from the actual fin to the total heat that would be
transferred if the fin were isothermal at its base
temperature. This definition is illustrated by Fig. 1.49. In
this figure, the fin temperature T
f
is higher than the bulk
outer fluid temperature, T
o
, so heat flows from the fin to
the outer fluid. All the heat thus transferred however must
flow into the fin through the base or root of the fin.
Therefore, the temperature at the base of the fin, T
r
, is the
highest temperature in the fin. The temperature decreases
continuously from that point as one proceeds outward in
the fin in order to cause the heat to flow from the base to
the fin. The rate of decrease depends upon the shape and
thermal conductivity of the fin and the film heat transfer
coefficient from the fin to the outer fluid.

It is clear that the maximum amount of heat would be transferred from the fin if the fin were everywhere at T
r
, and that
could only happen if the fin metal had infinite thermal conductivity. No metal has infinite thermal conductivity, of
course, but this makes a convenient reference point against which real fins can be compared, as in the above definition
of fin efficiency.

A complex mathematical analysis is necessary to obtain a solution for the fin efficiency, and this will not be carried out
here. A very complete discussion of the problem and it solutions is given in the book, "Extended Surface Heat
Transfer", by Kern and Kraus (12).

For the kinds of fins that are considered here, a good equation to use over most of the range of interest is:

r
o
d
d m
3
1
1
2
+
= (1.33)

where

ky R
h
H m
fo
o

+
=
1
2
(1.34)


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The geometrical variables are defined in Fig. 1.50, and h
o
and R
fo

are respectively the actual convective heat transfer coefficient and
the actual fouling resistance on the fin side, based on the fin area.

An inspection of Eqs. (1.33) and (1.34) indicates that the fin
efficiency is higher for the better-conducting fin materials, and
higher as the outside heat transfer coefficient is lower. Finned
tubes are not generally used in applications where the fin
efficiency is less than 0.65.

The fin efficiency is applicable only to the fin area of the tube. It
is assumed that heat is transferred from the root area of the tube
(between the fins) with an efficiency of 1.00. Thus, we may write
the equation for the total heat transfer from the tube as:

( ) ( ) + =
o r fin o o r root o
T T A h T T A h Q (1.35)

where A
root
refers to the heat transfer area of the root portions
between the fins and A
fin
to the heat transfer area of all the fins on
the tube. This equation may be written as:

( )( )
fin root o r o
A A T T h Q + = (1.36)
or
( )
eq o r o
A T T h Q = (1.37)

where A
eq
, the equivalent or effective heat transfer area, is

fin root eq
A A A + = (1..38)

If the outside of the tube (including the fins) has a fouling film on it, Eqs. (1.35), (1.36) and (1.37) must be written:

( ) ( )

+
+

+
=
o r fin
fo
o
o r root
fo
o
T T A
R
h
T T A
R
h
Q
1
1
1
1
(1.39)
or
( )( )
fin root o r
fo
o
A A T T
R
h
Q +

+
=
1
1
(1.40)
or
( )
eq o r
fo
o
A T T
R
h
Q

+
=
1
1
(1.41)
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and Eq. (1.38) is unchanged.

A
eq
may be divided by the total outside heat
transfer area of the tube A
o
to give a weighted
fin efficiency.

fin root
fin root
w
A A
A A
E
+
+
= (1.42)
and values of this ratio can be calculated for a
given tube as a function of material and

+
fo
o
R
h
1
once and for all. This has been
done in Figures 1.51 a, b, c for the Wolverine
Trufin Products.
F FT SQ Hr Btu
f h
fo o

+
. . / ,
/ 1
1

1.5.4. The Fin Resistance Method
Another way of representing the heat transfer
effectiveness of a finned tube is by the "fin resistance method," as first developed by Carrier and Anderson (13) and
further modified by Young and Ward (14). This is the method that will be generally used in the remainder of this
Manual. The line of argument that led to Eq. (1.16) was based upon a plain tube in which all of the outer heat transfer
was taken to be equivalent in its ability to transfer heat. The validity of that equation may be extended to finned tubes if
we rewrite the equation introducing an additional resistance due to heat conduction through the fin, R
fin
:
Fig. 1.51a Weighted Fin Efficiency of 19 Fin Type S/T Trufin
o o o
fo
o
fin
m w
w
i
fi
i i
o i
A h A
R
A
R
A k
x
A
R
A h
T T
Q
1 1
+ + +

+ +

= (1.43)

The third term in the denominator, referring
to the wall resistance, is evaluated for that
portion of the tube wall that lies between the
inside diameter and the root diameter, i.e.,
exclusive of the fins. Thus

( )
i r
d d x = 2 / 1
( )L x d A
i m
+
(1.44)

and

(1.45)

We now define an overall heat transfer
coefficient U
o
based on the entire outer
surface of the finned tube, A
o
:

( )
o i o o
T T A U Q =
F FT SQ Hr Btu
f h
fo o

+
. . / ,
/ 1
1
(1.46)
Fig 1.51b. Weighted Fin Efficiencies of 26 and 28 Fin Type S/T Trufin
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Eliminating and ( between Eqs. (1.43) and (1.46) and rearranging, we have: Q )
o i
T T

+ + + =
i
o
i i
o
fi
m w
o
fin fo
o o
A
A
h A
A
R
A k
xA
R R
h U
1 1 1
(1.47)

As written, each term on the right-hand-side is a
resistance to heat transfer for the particular
process involved; the temperature drop across
each part of the process is proportional to the
magnitude of the corresponding resistance.

If we take the first three terms on the right side
of Eq. (1.47), the corresponding temperature
drop is that from the root to the external fluid,
, and the corresponding heat flow is (
o r
T T )
( )

+ +

=
fin fo
o
o o r
R R
h
A T T
Q
1
(1.48)

F FT SQ Hr Btu
f h
fo o

+
. . / ,
/ 1
1
This may be equated to Eq. (1.40) which uses
the fin efficiency , but which must give the
same heat flow. With some rearrangement
Fig.1.51c Weighted Fin Efficiencies of 32 & 40 Fin Type S/T Trufin

+

=
fo
o
fin
root
fin
R
h
A
A
R
1 1
fin
R
F FT SQ HR Btu
r h
fo o

+
. . / ,
/ 1
1
Fig. 1.52a Fin Resistance of 19 Fin Type S/T Trufin
(1.49)

Using Eqs. (1.33, 1.34) to evaluate ,
may be calculated as a function of

o
h
1
+
fo
R
for various fin materials and geometries: results
are given in Figures 1.52a, b, c for the standard
Wolverine Trufin Products.

An important feature of R
fin
is that it is nearly
constant for a given fin geometry and material
out to high values of the abscissa (relative to the
usual range of finned tube application.)



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Fig. 1.52c Fin Resistance of 32 & 40 Fin Type S/T Trufin
Fig.1.52b Fin Resistance of 26 & 27 Fin Type S/T Trufin
1.5.5. Some Applications of Finned Tubes.
One major application of high-finned tubes is in air-cooled heat exchangers. Atmospheric air, like all low pressure
gases, gives a very low heat transfer coefficient at normal velocities. By contrast, the tube-side fluid, usually a liquid to
be sensibly cooled or a vapor to be condensed may have a coefficient up to 100 times higher, or even more. Therefore,
high-finned tubes are used in these exchangers to reduce the overall size of exchanger required. Even so, some of these
installations cover several acres. Construction details and design methods for this kind of heat exchanger are given in
Chapter 4 of this manual.

Low- and medium-finned tubes are used in a variety of sensible, condensing, and boiling services in shell and tube
exchangers. A typical sensible heat transfer application would be cooling a compressed gas in a compressor inter-
cooler, using cooling water in the tubes.

Low-finned tubes are used for condensing organic vapors, which have condensing coefficients only a third or a quarter
of that of the cooling water inside the tubes. In addition to providing additional heat transfer area, the fins provide drip
points that facilitate the drainage of the condensate. On the other hand, finned tubes are not used for condensing steam
or other high surface tension fluids on the fin side. The high surface tension causes the liquid to hang on the surface,
largely insulating it by a static film of liquid.

Finned tubes are also used in boiling services, especially when condensing steam is the heating medium inside the
tubes. The condensing coefficient in this case may be 2000 or 3000 Btu/hr.ft
2
.F, so even the high heat transfer
coefficients commonly associated with nucleate boiling may be relatively small by comparison, and the design can
benefit by the use of low-finned tubes.


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