An experimental comparison of two multi-louvered fin heat exchangers with different numbers of fin rows

An experimental comparison of double-row and triple-row multi-louvered fin exchangers was performed to estimate air-side performance. The tests were conducted under identical thermal conditions. The studied heat exchangers had identical frontal areas and depths. Transient and steady state conditions were considered. The air-side thermal performance data were analyzed using the effectiveness-NTU method for a cross-flow heat exchanger with both fluids in unmixed conditions. The results were evaluated using the volume goodness factor j/f1/3 for the air side, where j is the Colburn factor and f is the friction factor. As a result of the experimental study, the heat exchanger with double-row fins was found to be more effective in terms of NTU and effectiveness. The results of the present study were also compared with the correlations in the literature, and it was observed that the friction factor values of both models were in agreement with the values found in the literature. The maximum deviation of the friction factor was 15%, whereas the maximum deviation of the Colburn-j factor was 72% due to the geometrical discrepancies. •An experimental study for two louvered fin flat tube type heat exchangers.•Effect of number of fin rows between the serpentine flat tubes under same conditions.•Transient period and steady state period of the heat exchangers were examined.•NTU, effectiveness, Colburn-j factor, friction factor and volume goodness factor were obtained.