Selection of Energetically Efficient Method of Situating Finned Tubes in the Heat-Exchange Section of an Air Cooler

Abstract

A computational and analytical study of the energy efficiency of the configuration of finned tubes in the heat exchange section of an air cooler is carried out by the Antuf’ev method for different types of configuration of finned tubes in the heat-exchange section of an air cooler. In the investigation the range of variation of the air speed in the compressed frontal part of the section was in the range 2.87–25.66 m/s and of the tube finning coefficient, in the range 5.1–27.4 (which corresponds to the range of variation of the parameters of the air coolers employed). In the range of variation of the consumption of power N0 by the fan motor typical of the high-speed operating modes of air coolers with a checkerboard configuration in the section bundle, the average thermal efficiency of finned tubes in the section bundle is 25% higher than the unstaggered configuration with N0 = idem. Thus, in the sections of air coolers, it is best to use a checkerboard configuration of the finned tubes, which makes it possible to achieve high thermal efficiency of the finned tubes along with energy and resource conservation.