Experimental Investigation on Heat Transfer and Pressure Drop Characteristics of Air Flow over A Staggered Flat Tube Bank in Crossflow

This paper presents an experimental investigation into the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of air flow in a staggered flat tube bank in crossflow with laminar-forced convection. Measurements were conducted for sixteen tubes in the direction of flow and four tubes in rows. The air velocity varies between 0.6-1.0 m/s and the Reynolds number varied from 373 to 623. The total heat flux supplied in all tubes are changed from 967.92 to 3629.70 W/m2. The results indicate that the average Nusselt number for all the flat tubes increased by 11.46-46.42%, with the Reynolds numbers varying from 373 to 623 at the fixed heat flux. The average Nusselt number increased by 21.39-84%, and the total heat flux varyied between 967.92-3629.70 W/m^sup 2^ with a constant Reynolds number Re = 498. In addition, the pressure drop decreased with an increase in the Reynolds number. A new mean Nusselt number-Reynolds number correlation was found, and the correlation yielded good predictions for the measured data with a confidence interval of 98.9%. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]