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THE EFFECT OF FIN DENSITY ON THE HEAT TRANSFER

AND PRESSURE DROP PERFORMANCE OF LOW-FINNED
TUBE BANKS
a a a
T.J. RABAS , P.W. ECKELS & R.A. SABATINO
a
Steam Turbine-Generator Technical Operations Div., Westinghouse Electric Corporation ,
Lester, Pa
Published online: 29 Oct 2007.

To cite this article: T.J. RABAS , P.W. ECKELS & R.A. SABATINO (1981) THE EFFECT OF FIN DENSITY ON THE HEAT TRANSFER
AND PRESSURE DROP PERFORMANCE OF LOW-FINNED TUBE BANKS, Chemical Engineering Communications, 10:1-3, 127-147

To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00986448108910930

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 Chem. Eng. Commun. Vol. 10, pp. 127-147 0 Gordon and Breach. Science Publishers Inc.. 1981
0098-6445/8l/lOOl-Ol27SO6.50/0 Printed in the U S A .

THE EFFECT OF FIN DENSITY ON THE HEAT

TRANSFER AND PRESSURE DROP
PERFORMANCE OF LOW-FINNED TUBE BANKS
T.J. RABAS, P.W. ECKELS, R.A. SABATINO
Steam Turbine-Generator Technical Operations Div.,
Westinghouse Electric Corporation. Lester, Pa.
(Received December 29. 1980; i n final f o r m January 12. 1981)
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Heat transfer and pressure drop data are presented for equilateral-triangular pitch tube bundles containing
low-finned tubes with fin counts between 0.4 and 1.06 fins per mm. Two types of finned tubes were tested.
The first was a 19-mm O.D. integral finned tube with a 1.65-mm fin height and with 0.75 and 1.06 fins per
mm. The second was a 31.75-mm O.D. plain tube wound with 3.18-mm soldered fin stock and containing
0.4. 0.71, and 0.98 fins per mm. A new low-fin heat transfer correlation was developed which predicted
these new data and additional data from five other sources within an error range from minus 20 percent to
plus 31 percent. A necessary dimensionless group required to obtain this accuracy was the fin diameterlfin
spacing ratio. Existing friction factor correlations were not successful in predicting these new pressure drop
results. A new low-fin friction factor correlation was developed which predicted these data and additional
published data within an error range from minus 19 percent to plus 27 percent.

INTRODUCTION

Two applications for low-finned tubes are moisture separator reheaters used in the
secondary side of nuclear power plants and hydrogen coolers used within turbine-
generators. Low-finned tubes are cost effective for these applications because the
shellside heat transfer coefficients of steam and hydrogen are about an order of
magnitude higher than air. The desirable outside to inside surface area ratios are
therefore lower than typical high-finned air-cooled heat exchanger tubes. The fin
height upper limit for low-finned tubing is commonly considered as 6.35 mm. For
moisture separator reheaters, low-finned integral tubes are used because of the high
temperatures and pressures (290C and 6894 k Pa). For hydrogen coolers, helical plain
fins with an I-foot configuration and soldered to the base tube are used because the
maximum temperature never exceeds 93OC. The tension-wound helical plain finned
tube type was not considered for hydrogen coolers because of limitations in the
obtainable finned tube geometry and uncertainties of the fin bond resistance.
The heat transferred per unit area of the base surface can be increased by installing
more fins per unit length on the base tube. Increasing the fin density is one way, then,
to reduce the heat exchanger volume and possibly to reduce the cost. The thermal
performance of existing units can be upgraded by retubing with high fin count

Contributed by the Heat Transfer Division of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers for
presentation at the Joint ASME/AIChE National Heat Transfer Conference, Orlando. Florida. July
27-30. 1980. Manuscript received at ASME Headquarters April I I . 1980.
Copies will be available until April 1. 1981.
 T.J. RABAS ET AL.
surfaces if pressure drop limitations are not controlling. The effects which must be
considered when high fin density tubing is contemplated are as follows: manufacturing
limitations, fouling of the finned surface, heat transfer performance, pressure drop
performance.
Integral low-finned tubes with fin counts up to about 1.2 fins per mm are now
commercially available. Fin counts up to I fin per mm can be manufactured if a
soldered fin attachment is used. The fin density of typical high-finned tension-wound
or embedded air-cooler tubes is bounded by the manufacturing process and is usually
less than about 0.6 fins per mm. In general, there is a greater flexibility in fin count
and in geometry if low-finned tubes are employed. For both the moisture separator
Downloaded by [Carnegie Mellon University] at 17:41 17 January 2015

reheater and hydrogen cooler applications, mechanical difficulties do not introduce a

limitation or restriction to increasing the fin densities from that currently used.
The danger of fouling does not exist for either of these applications. For both cases,
the shell side fluids are confined in closed loops which are free of materials which
could foul or plug the gaps between the fins. Damage to other components in these
systems such as the steam turbine blades and blocking of cooling passages . , in the
generator will occur if foreign materials are permitted into the systems.
The other restrictions to the employment of higher fin count tubes are the resulting
heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics. An extensive review of the published
literature uncovered only one article by Carnavos' which presented heat transfer and
pressure drop data for tube bundles containing more than 0.8 fins per mm. Carnavos
measured the performance of identical finned tube bundles; the finned tubes were the
Griscom-Russell small K-fins having 0.63, 0.95, and 1.18 fins per mm. The finned
tubes in the bundles were the helical plain low-finned type with a brazed fin
attachment. Carnavos discovered that the heat transfer decreases and pressure drop
increases with an increase in the fin density. These heat transfer and pressure drop
data were obtained for tube bundles where the base tube diameters were much smaller
than commonly used in most finned tube applications. These data might not be
directly applicable, then, because larger base tube diameters are used in moisure
separator reheaters and hydrogen coolers.
Other experiments were performed to evaluate the effect of the fin density for more
common finned tube base diameters. The fin counts were, however, always less than
0.8 fins per mm. Briggs and Young2 showed that the heat transfer coefficient
decreases with an increase in the number of fins per unit length and that the heat
transfer is primarily dependent on the ratio of the fin height to thespacing between the
fins.
Antufycv and Gusev' systematically investigated the effect of fin spacing or pitch
for integral low-finned tubes with a base tube diameter of 19 mm and a fin height of 3
mm. Three bundles were tested with 0.29.0.5 and 0.66 fins per mm. The heat transfer
data were correlated with the area ratio or the finning factor. Also, the fin spacing had
a very small erect on the tube bundle heat transfer performance.
It is evident that there exists a missing data base for low-finned tubes with extended
fin count. The purpose of this paper is to present new high fin density data for typical
plain tube diameters and to present preliminary heat transfer and pressure drop
correlations which can be used for these finned tube types.
 HEAT TRANSFER A N D PRESSURE DROP PERFORMANCE 129
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* In
w .-L
,. -,
, ,
0-
urn
,,
L .

2VI .
L1
3

ra.
id?
n m n h
N h O
* n r .
--;:a4
n 8 m m m u
m o o n - 0
n
I-.f:
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Downloaded by [Carnegie Mellon University] at 17:41 17 January 2015
Downloaded by [Carnegie Mellon University] at 17:41 17 January 2015
 132 T.J. RABAS E T AL.
DATA REDUCTION

Standard data reduction procedures were used to compute the Colburn J factor and
the Fanning friction factor. Only a very brief outline is presented here since a more
detailed presentation exists e l ~ e w h e r e . ~
The corrected heat transfer coefficient is presented in dimensionless form as:
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The actual airside heat transfer coefficient is calculated using the resistance
method. A data reduction computer program performed the required calculations
which included the fin efficiency correction to obtain h,. The friction factor presenta-
tion is in the Fanning format or

In Equations ( I ) and (2). G,,, is the mass velocity based on the minimum free flow
area.
The heat transfer and pressure drop are presented as a function of the Reynolds
number. The Reynolds number definition used for this presentation is

where d, is the root diameter of the finned tube.

INTEGRAL FINNED TUBE RESULTS

Figure 3 shows plots of the Colburn J factor and the Fanning friction factor as
functions of the Reynolds number for tube banks 1 and 2 (0.72 fins per mm) and tube
bank 3 (1.06 fins per mm). The larger fin count integral-finned tubes have a slightly
lower heat transfer coefficient and a slightly higher pressure drop. This variation was
expected and is consistent with the results obtained by Carnavos.'
The number of transverse rows and bundle side sealing were not the same for these
three tube banks. The authors believe that these differences will have only a small
effect on the heat transfer and pressure drop results presented in Figure 3. Consider
first the diRerence in transverse row number. Generally, the average heat transfer
performance of tube bundles increases with the number of transverse rows for a
staggered tube pitch Figure 3 also shows that the heat transfer
performance for the six-row bundle exceeds that of the three-row bundle. The thermal
performance of a six-row tube bundle with 0.75 fins per mm could be somewhat lower
than that of the indicated 14-row tube bundle. It has been established that after the
first few rows, the heat transfer per row is almost independent of the row number. The
 HEAT TRANSFER A N D PRESSURE DROP PERFORMANCE 133
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V
10' 10' 1o5
REYNOLDS NUMBER BASED ON MAX. VELOCITY
TRANSVERSE SIDE
ROWS SEALS
A 1.03 MM FIN PITCH 14 HALF-TUBES
1.03 MM FIN PITCH 14 NONE
o 0.635 MM FIN PITCH 6 HALF-TUBES
0.635 MM FIN PITCH 3 HALF-TUBES

FIGURE 3. Integral finned tube results, 19.05 mm O.D.fin with 15.875 root diameter-23.81 mm
transverse pitch.

difference in the thermal performance for six-row and 14-row bundles should be
therefore very small.
Generally, the pressure drop per row is only slightly affected and decreases with
increasing row number with staggered tube This observation is somewhat
consistent with the 1.06 fins per mm data presented in Figure 3. Again the argument
can be advanced that the differences in the pressure drop per row with six and 14 row
tube bundles should not be significant.
Common test practice is to install sealing devices such as half-tubes or angle baffles
in order to simulate an ideal tube bundle. These devices are attached to the side walls
in each tube row with the smaller tube number. Tube banks I and 2 were constructed
to determine the effect of bypassing with industrial type sealing devices such as seal
strips. Bundle bypassing or leakage between the outer tubes and bundle side walls
 T.J. RABAS ET AL.
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REYNOLDS NUMBER BASED Of MAX. VELOCITY

SIDE SEALS
ANGLE BAFFLE
ANGLE BAFFLE
ANGLE BAFFLE
HALF-TUBES
HALF-TUBES

FIGURE 4. Integral finned tube data comparison, 19.0s fin diameter-equilateral pitch

affects both the bundle heat transfer and pressure drop performance. Jameson8
discovered that angle baffles attached to the side walls in each short transverse row
increased the overall bundle heat transfer by 15 percent. The pressure drop also
increased. Bergelin, Bell and Leighton" conducted a very complete investigation of
fluid bypassing for plain tube banks and Bell" later presented generalized correlations
of these data which determined the effect of the leakage on both the heat transfer and
pressure drop. These data and the resulting correlations support the observations of
Jameson.
Figure 3 shows that the bypassing in tube bank 1 reduced the heat transfer
performance obtained with an ideal tube bank by about 10 percent. This figure also
shows that the pressure drop is reduced by about 15 percent due to the tube bundle
side leakage.
Figure 4 presents a comparison of these new data with the heat transfer and
pressure drop data obtained by Briggs and Young2 for a 19-mm plain tube diameter
bundle (curve I ) and two 19-mm fin diameter integral finned tube bundles with
 HEAT TRANSFER A N D PRESSURE DROP PERFORMANCE 135
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REYNOLDS NUMBER BASED ON MAX. VELOCITY

FIGURE 5. Soldered finned tube results, 31.75 rnm O.D. cupronickel (9LL10) tubes wound with 38.735
O.D. copper soldered fins-8 rows-42.8625 equilateral pitch.

similar geometries (curves 2 and 3). The details of these test banks as well as bundle 2
(curve 4) and bundle 3 (curve 5) are summarized in this figure to highlight the
differences. The heat transfer data obtained from both data sources (curves 3 and 4)
agree very closely for these almost identical tube bundles. The Briggs and Young data
actually fall slightly below the ideal bundle results or bank 2, but above the results
obtained with bundle bypassing or bank 1. A very similar finding exists with the
Briggs and Young pressure drop results. Their pressure drop results agree more
closely, however, with the data obtained with bank 1 . This favorable agreement
between the two data sources supplies further credibility to these new heat transfer
and pressure drop results for integral-finned tube bundles.
Figure 4 also shows that there exists a continuing decrease in the heat transfer
coefficient beginning with the plain tube and ending with the highest-fin-count tube.
Observe also the systematic reduction of the slope of the Colburn J factor with the
Reynolds number with increasing fin count. This slope variation was not apparent
with the Carnavos' results for staggered tube banks. However, Carnavos did obtain a
reduction of the slope with increasing fin count for the heat transfer data with inline
tube banks containing the same three finned tube types.
The pressure drop results, in general, follow a similar orderly pattern of increasing
with an increasing fin count. There is one exception. The pressure drop of the
 T.J. RABAS ET AL.
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REYNOLDS NUMBER BASED ON MAX. VELOCITY

FIGURE 6. Soldered finned tube results, 31.75 rnrn O.D. cupronickel (90-10) tubes wound with 38.735
rnm O.D. copper soldered fins-) rows.

0.45-fins-per-mm bundle (curve 2) is larger than that of the 0.75-fins-~er-mmbundle

(curve 3). The different root diameters and resulting fin heights could be responsible
for this exception. The slope of friction factor with the Reynolds number does not
appear to be dependent on the fin count.
Some very minor variations may exist between the Briggs and Young data2and the
presentation of these data in Figure 4. The heat transfer data were taken from the
figures presented in their paper. It was difficult to accurately extract data from the
figures. Since most of the data were presented in a h, vs. U,,, framework, an
additional uncertainty was introduced in converting the data to the Colburn J factor
vs. Reynolds number format. Curve fits of the pressure drop results were presented.
Minor variations also could be introduced by the conversion of these data to the
Fanning friction factor vs. Reynolds number representation. Since the heat transfer
and pressure drop data points were not availableithe lines rather than the points of the
new data are presented in Figure 4.

SOLDERED FINNED TUBE RESULTS

Figure 5 presents the heat transfer and pressure drop data for tube banks 4, 5 and 6
with eight transverse rows and 42 .86-mm equilateral pitch. Again the heat transfer
 HEAT TRANSFER A N D PRESSURE DROP PERFORMANCE 137
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E PARAMETER Re-
.003.-
"
v
;
g
r O
.002-- 11
c
7
I
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
NUMBER OF TRANSVERSE ROWS
FIGURE 7. Soldered finned tube results, 31.75 mm O.D. cupronickel (9&10) tubes wound with 38.735
mm O.D. copper soldered fins42.8625 equilateral pitch.

decreases and pressure drop increases with an increasing fin density. For this larger
diameter tube, the fin density has much stronger impact on the performance. The heat
transfer becomes less dependent on the Reynolds number as the fin count increases
but the friction factor maintains essentially thesame slopevariation with the Reynolds
number.
The effect of the longitudinal pitch on the heat transfer and pressure drop
performance is presented in Figure 6. Test banks 4 and 7 which contain 0.4 fins per
mm are identical except for the longitudinal pitch. There is essentially no difference in
the heat transfer performance of these tube banks, the commonly expected result
obtained by Briggs and Young2 and Jameson: when the data is presented in this
format. A similar comparison of the heat transfer performance of the 0.98-fins-
per-mm tube banks (banks 6 and 8) shows a departure from the expected result. For
large fin counts, the heat transfer of a tube bundle is influenced by the tube pitch, a t
least for an extended longitudinal pitch. Briggs and Young2 observed almost identical
heat transfer performance from two 22.7-mm-fin-diameter low-finned tube banks
with equilateral tube pitches of 27.4 mm and 11 1.0 mm. The observation of Jamesons
was obtained from the heat transfer results for 28.5-mm-fin-diameter low-finned tube
banks with a 34.3 mm longitudinal pitch and with 31.3- and 46.9-mm transverse
 T.J. RABAS ET AL.
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1 I 1.056 MM FIN PITCH

,709 FINS PER MM I I

I I I I I I I I
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
NUMBER O F TRANSVERSE ROWS

FIGURE 8. Soldered finned tube results. 31.75 m m O.D.cupronickel (9&10) tubes wound with 38.735
m m O.D.copper soldered fins-42.8625 m m equilateral pitch.

pitches. The fin counts were 0.44 and 0.342 respectively. Both observations were
obtained from, tube bundles with very low fin densities. A small but noticeable
departure in the thermal performance was observed by Carnavos' for 1.18 fins per mm
and 9.525-mm-fin-diameter low-finned tube banks with the same longitudinal pitch
and two different transverse pitches. The large variation in the thermal performance
with pitch changes for staggered tube banks containing larger diameter tubes with
very dense finning is therefore not totally unexpected.
Figure 6 also shows that the departure from an equilateral pitch impacts more on
the heat transfer than the pressure drop for tube banks with large fin counts and
diameters. The pressure drop generally decreases with an increase in the longitudinal
pitch.8," These new data support this observation; however, the reduction is less than
that predicted with most industry accepted finned tube pressure drop correlations.
Figures 7, 8, and 9 illustrate the influence of the transverse row number on the heat
transfer and pressure drop for 0.39, 0.71, and 0.98 fins per mm respectively. These
data are presented for three Reynolds numbers. Figure 7 shows that both the heat
 HEAT TRANSFER A N D PRESSURE DROP PERFORMANCE 139
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.984 FINS PER M M

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
NUMBER O F TRANSVERSE ROWS
FIGURE 9. Soldered finned tube results. 31.75 mm O.D. cupronickle (90-10) tubes wound with 38.735
mm O.D. copper soldered fins-42.8625 mm equilateral pitch.

transfer and pressure drop generally increase with the number of transverse rows for
tube bank 4 with 0.39 fins per mm. A similar finding was obtained with the
integral-finned tubes with 1.06 fins per mm. A slight increase exists in the pressure
drop and the amount of this increase is Reynolds number dependent. For a Reynolds
number of 20,000, the pressure drop could be considered independent of the number of
transverse rows.
Figure 8 shows that the heat transfer decreases and the pressure drop is not affected
with an increase in the number of transverse rows for tube bank 5 with 0.71 fins per
mm. The reduction of the heat transfer with row number increase is a surprising result
for staggered tube banks. A similar result is obtained, however, with in-line finned
tube bank^^.^.' in turbulent flow.
Figure 9 shows that the pressure drop decreases and the heat transfer is not affected
with an increase in the transverse row number for tube bank 6 with 0.98 fins per mm.
The interesting finding here is that the heat transfer is also almost independent of the
Reynolds number. The observation has been previously stressed that the heat transfer
becomes less dependent on the Reynolds number for high-fin-count tubing.
 140 T.J. RABAS E T AL.
PROPOSED LOW-FINNED CORRELATIONS

The accuracy of any empirical correlation is improved if the range of application is

restricted. For this reason, the concept introduced by Briggs and YoungZ to separate
finned tube heat transfer correlations into low-fin and high-fin groups was also
adopted for this presentation. The fin heights of all the data used to develop the
proposed low-fin heat transfer correlation were less than 6.35 mm. The same
restriction approach was also used to obtain the proposed pressure drop correlation.
A regression technique was used to develop both the heat transfer and pressure drop
correlations. The general correlation equations are as follows:
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The parameters in both correlations are identical expect for the Reynolds number
slope dependence in the heat transfer correlation and the generalized pitch correction
terms used in the pressure drop correlation. Equation (4)is similar to that proposed by
Briggs and Young2 and Equation (5) is similar to that suggested by Robinson and
Briggs."
The data sources, geometry, and data point numbers used to develop both correla-
tions are presented in Table 2. The criterion for this data base selection was the HTRI
critical review of most of the published data. The number of transverse rows for these
30 tube banks was always equal to or greater than 6. For the new data, actual test
points were used. For the published data, test points or points extracted from lines
representing the data were used to complete the data bank. Only three data points
were used for these tube banks. A total of 8 1 heat transfer points and 96 pressure drop
points were used to develop the proposed correlations.
The proposed heat transfer and pressure drop correlations obtained with this data
base and with the general format presented in Equations (4)and (5)are as follows:

Heat Transfer

Pressure Drop
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TABLE 11
Data bank description
 T.J. RABAS ET AL.
TABLE 111

Summary of correlation prediction accuracy

Heat Transfer Pressure Drop

r ggs an Jameson
Proposed !o:ng ti Proposed 181

1.31 1.74 1.27 1.40 1.67

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&%%(mln. 0.80 0.82 0.81 0.88 0.68

Percent of
Points Outside 6.2 17.3 10.4 19.8 33.3
?IS% Range

Restrictions:
fin height less than 6.35 mm,
1000 5 Re I25000,

s,5 S,,
N,r 6 .
Table 3 is a summary of the prediction accuracy of the proposed heat transfer and
pressure drop correlations and of some commonly used correlations developed for
air-cooler applications. It is evident that the proposed correlations adequately predict
these data, and are far superior the commonly used correlations. Only the Briggs and
Young heat transfer correlation2 was considered for comparison because it is the only
published correlation which was developed solely for low-finned tubes. The Jameson
pressure drop correlations did a very creditable job in predicting all these data
considering the restricted data base used in its development. Table 3 shows that the
Vampola pressure drop ~ o r r e l a t i o nshould
'~ not be used for low-finned tubes. The
authors also suggest that the Robinson and Briggs pressure drop correlationI2 should
not be used for low-finned tubes.
Table 4 presents the experimental data and the prediction/measurement ratios for
all the data points and correlations listed in Table 3. Table 4 shows that the Briggs and
Young heat transfer correlation2 prediction accuracy is questionable only for bundles
'4 and 5 or for the new high fin density and large diameter hydrogen cooler tube banks.
Figure I0 is an error plot of this correlation with the abscissa as the ratio of the fin
diameter to the fin spacing. It is evident from Figure 10 that the fin diameterlfin
spacing ratio is a necessary additional parameter for the Briggs and Young low-fin
heat transfer correlation. This geometry ratio was an important independent variable
in the proposed heat transfer correlation expressed by Equation (6).
 HEAT TRANSFER AND PRESSURE DROP PERFORMANCE 143
TABLE IV

Correlation prediction comparisons

Heat Transfer Pressure DroD

Bundle Reynolds - l:ln ggs
Code Number Jn Jf Proposed 4-Vqung Proposed Jameson Vampola
1.0U 7505.00 .o01~b .2uf#tlOO .970 1.U85 1.044 1.118 1.314
1.00 l:IZ"'i.uu .\)()1~.5 .i!1",ulJ .{f44 l.O,) l.O10 1.0tlO ~ .i? 1
2 ntl 11.;)C1uO --.!11I14;):J "h'.•roo .Ilol 1.HIlI 1.1l'2 1.111 1."'"
2.00
2.0U
~b"'O.VU
IoiIOOU.IH)
•t'"' (j"
.,.!obbl
.c!'.lU~UV
.e?l'3uUll
.~r>'"
.l:l')~
1.0~U
1.I)a7
1.lI?t.I.5
I, i! q",
1.~~3
1.l?"V
1.6i1
l,"V
tl .ou . U80U (,U -----..» u .. 1 7 • iue.uuu .(Hll 1.uO .. l.tl""'" 1 .,7Pi 1."~"
i,ou ~305U,uO ,\,u~3i! ,llfttoou .~Ul ,"11)0 I,ll." 1.iU 1,613
Downloaded by [Carnegie Mellon University] at 17:41 17 January 2015

3.0u b37"'.oO ,1)Oet21 ,2huu .983 1.U78 .tl1 1.140 1.IJet

].ou tt!i:H.UO ---..!)07t\1 .~50]101l 9bO 1.048 ,.35 1 ,1Il7 1. f51
3,00 1l13~.itu ,1)Vbbb .ct!~c!~1) ,q1~ 1. I) ')1'1 ,Qo;7 1.17b 1, po
$.ou If40b.vU .!.)(Jb$~ .iul'l1470 .'1cj;, 1,001 ."'70 1.181 1.1 Il1
3.00 1';1l1 " ,HJ i • I) 1 t\ 1.C!iJ
~'IJ,J'H
.lJO'301
• t'iIJ .. IH)
,141b710
."'''~ l.c CJ u
,'i~~
,tt1~
l.clt!
I,Ur.,
".OU bi7~.~0 1.0Cl~ 1.031
4.0U "'b ll.5,10 .UII)4.$ ,])b,s'lO .901 1.1t18 .929 1.0to 1.1tll
4.0U 1J7f:ti!.ul) .\JOlt7! .:S14~3u 1.U&!c l.iil ,.~10 1.131 1.i!Clb
4.00 117~Q,uO .V\J .. bb .e"~"]o ,l.Ii" 1.l)q~ 1.01i=! 1.11t> 1,clll:l
~.UlJ ellUl.tiu .1)OJMl .!)~111l) 1.313 1.74~ .e131i .~Sc: 1,1"0
~.ou ~t\71J.,HJ .'10 .. 31 ."';)""1l0 1.'OH 1.,S4\j .~1~ 1,1.131 I• .:!""
~,uu ~"'''.OO .IJO"11 .1oI)ttblU 1.Ul0 1."OU ,'fUel l.ui" 1.il'
5.00 I~010.lJu .00.111] ,311 JOO 1.00B 1.~80 1,0011 1.U4 1,15'
5.1.10 lbbl".oU .UQ,t73 ,3tlJu10 1.uJi 1.)03 1,018 1. ~J& 1. J?1
., lOt) lttUl.Vl1 .dll 1U • Itb,;) ';)\) I) 1.10:;' 1.uZe 1,OIt: I.UOe! ... "Ii
b.OI) 1t.C!~.t.lu ,\lVl"" • iVc'!lJ\Io 1.11 " 1.iJiU ,~e.C! .931 ,C,]O
b.\.IO 1~(jllJ.v\J ,III;:;' 1 t) ,I bt';)IHl l.~uc 1.u cH .q"tl .921 .~i"
'.00 ':511.1)0 ,1)O"'ti!l) ."C:~I)UO leUiJ 1.U:5'1 ,'11'1 .'flll leg"l
7,00 ~31U.UO .lHlb2lJ ,241"00 1.04Q 1.0lb .9'5 ,922 1.043
1.UU ~j9115.uO • i) 1) IJ 1 ~ .1 1c1t1(0 1) 1.1305 1.0CJ4 .1cI5tt .e7] ,n.s
~.uu "~~b.l.iU • U()~lJlf ."c:~uuo ."'11 ."e" 1.Vl'" .'1jC 1,1""
l:I,Ol! "":H~.vU • ,)0., ... ;, • e"lItJlJlI .~tlc 1.001.' Ie l"e 1.;)?CJ 1.25.;
M.Oll Iltltdj.ll\J .110 .... 1'1 • C! 1 C! ,.HIlI 1,O2~ I.U!O 1.U 7e ,'is:' 1.1 7l
'i.UU "1 '11.1. UU .OU1"" ,C41'C:OU .""~ hOi" .0"1 .&.~ ."41
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'lJ.Ou 1971b,UO ,UOlolSO .114J..,OOO 1.001 1.00'" .<iCJ8 .'Ut8 l,oh
10,OU li7u.uU .ul"100 • ,51 0000 .~3u .1t9, ."177 ,~'n .'985
10.0U cf537.UO .IJUlwlQO • i 1 7\,IOll • lib'" .91~ 1.0]1 1.0 t 1 1603U
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lc,UU 10Sb.lJV .1)1 ':lbO .l~7vI)O l.vul 1,UI0 .917 1,025 .'U.3
l~.UU .t40U.UO
12.UU tlin~.,,;o
----I.!J1 0 a
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1.ll.0U j!vlJ.,il,i ~'l,)OO .ii!~llU(JU 1.0111 .'i9CJ 1.106 1.1C14 1,027
13.0U 111"'.ou .1)U7dii! ,il 4lOOU ,~7U .lIbS 1.0!" 1.081 ,91'1
111.0U 1bll~.VO .01,51,) .i!~311VU 1.017 .8118 1,00' 1.111 .IIU
ll.,\.OU elbOO.VU .\)11~O .11~uuv .'Iliti ,ttOl 1.014 1.163 .t]4

CONCLUSIONS

Correlation equations, based on new and published data, are presented which quite
accurately predict the heat transfer and pressure drop of low-finned tube bundles. The
fin diameter lfin spacing ratio was a new and necessary parameter in both correla-
tions. Other conclusions resulting from the above mentioned tests and correlation
efforts are as follows:
 T.J. RABAS ET AL.
TABLE IV

1
Correlation prediction comparisons (continued)

Bundl Reynolds I I Heat ansfer

Briuqs
I
I
Pressure Drop
I I I
Number
1U.UU 0l;l,."U
I5.0U **>.3U
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J.~!fIOUU .ZlUl"lU
V.U U . U , 0 OUU
U.UUUUU .I 353UU
U J U .1515JU

J.dU0JU .I IUUIIII
I~.~JUUUII .dolnu:~
u.UUUIJII on u

I . The heat transfer for staggered finned tube bundles is not independent of the
pitch, at least an extended longitudinal pitch, for high fin density tubes.
2. The heat transfer increases with the transverse row number only for typical
air-cooler finned tubes. For higher-fin-count tubes, the heat transfer decreases
with an increasing transverse row number.
3. Thc heat transfer becomes less Reynolds number dependent as the fin density
increases.
 HEAT TRANSFER A N D PRESSURE DROP PERFORMANCE 145
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FIN DIAMETERIFIN SPACING RATIO

FIGURE 10. Error plot for the Briggs and Young heat transfercorrelation.

4. The friction factor variation with Reynolds number is not fin geometry
dependent.
5. The prediction accuracy of the Briggs and Young low-fin heat transfer
correlation is quite good except for high fin counts.
6. The prediction accuracy of the Jameson pressure drop correlation is questionable
for very high fin density tube bundles.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The author's acknowledge the valuable contribution of Mr. A.T. Pieczynski in running
the tests and in reducing the data.

NOMENCLATURE

a, b, c.--4 Constants in equations (4) and (5)

C Constants in equations (4) and (5)
 146 T.J. RABAS ET AL.

c~ Specific heat
4 Fin diameter, mm
4 Root diameter, mm
& Gravitational constant
&W Mass velocity based on minimum free flow area
hc Outside heat transfer coefficient
J/ Fanning friction factor--equation (2)
Colburn J factor--equation ( I )
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Jh

I Fin height, mm
N, Number of transverse rows
"/ Number of fins, I/mm
Pr Prandtl number
Re Reynolds number--equations ( 3 )
s, Transverse pitch, mm
SI. Longitudinal pitch, mm
XI Transverse pitch ratio-X, = Sl/dJ
XL Longitudinal pitch ratio-XL - SL/dJ
s Fin spacing or fin pitch, mm
f' Fin thickness, mm
P Density
P Viscosity
AP Pressure drop

REFERENCES

I . Carnavos, T.C.. "Heat Transfer and Pressure Loss Performance of Griscom-Russell Special Small
K-Fin Helically Finned Tubes," U S . Department of Commerce Clearing House. Report No. AECU
3970. May. 1958.
2. Briggs. D.E.. and Young. E.H.. "Convection Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop of Air Flowing Across
Triangular Pitch Banks of Finned Tubes," CEPSymposium. Series No. 41.59, 1963. pp. 1-10.
3. Antufycv. V.M., and Gusev, E.K., "Intensification of Heat Transfer of Cross-Flow Finned Surfaces,"
Teploeneregelira. 15, No. 7, 1968, pp. 3 1-34.
4. Rabas. T.J.. and Eckels. P.W.. "Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Performance of Segmented
Extended Surface Tube Bundles," ASME Paper 75-HT-45. 15th National Heat Transfer Conference.
San Francisco. August. 1975.
5. Weierman. C.. Taborek. J. and Manner, W.J.. AlChE Symposium Series 74. No. 174. "Heat Transfer:
Research and Application", pp. 3 9 4 6 (1978).
6. Ward. D.J. and Young, E.H., "Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop of Air in Forced Convection Across
Triangular Pitch Banks of Finned Tubes." CEPSymposium. Series No. 29.55. 1959, pp. 3 7 4 4 .
7. Brauer. H.. "Warmeubergang and Stromungswiderstand bei fluchtendund verstzt angeordnetin
Rippennohrin. (Heat Transfer and Flow Resistance of Inline and S t a--
~ g e r e dTube Banks), Dechema
~ b n o ~ n a ~ hBank
i c , 40. 1962.
8. Jameson. S.L.. "Tube Spacing in Finned Tube Banks," Trans. ASME. 67, November. 1945. pp.
633-642.
 HEAT TRANSFER A N D PRESSURE DROP PERFORMANCE 147
9. Weierman, C.. "Pressure Drop Tests on Welded Plain and Segmented Finned Tubcs in Staggered and
Inline Layouts," AlCHE paper 27. 16th National Heat Transfer Conference, St. Louis. Missouri,
August, 1976.
10. Bergelin, O.P., Bell, K.J.. and Leighton, M.D.. Heat Transfer and Fluid Friction During Flow Across
Banks of Tubes-VII-Fluid Bypassing Between Tube Bundles and Shell," AlCHE paper 8, Second
National Heat Transfer Conference. Chicago. Illinois, August, 1958.
I I. Bell, K.G., "Exchanger Design," Petro/Chem. Engineering, October, 1960, PC 26-40.
12. Robinson. K.K. and Briggs, D.E.. "Pressure Drop of Air Flowing Across Triangular Pitch Banks of
Finned Tubes." AlCHE Preprint 20. Eighth National Heat Transfer Conference. Los Angeles, Calif..
August, 1965.
13. Vampola. I.. "Generalization of the Laws Governing Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop During
Transverse Flow of Gases in Finned Tube Banks," Heat and Mass Transfer, 1, Convective Heat
Exchange in a Homogenous Medium. NASA 'ITF-431, pp. 224-231.
14. Kays, M.W. and London, A.L., Compacl Hear Exchangers. 2nd Ed., McCraw-Hill, New York, 1964.
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