Experimental and Numerical Investigation of Flow Distribution within the Heat Exchanger with Elliptical Tubes

The goal of this article is to validate the CFD simulations of the working fluid flow distribution in individual tubes of fin-and-tube heat exchanger. For this purpose, the CFD simulations have been conducted for the design of the inlet and outlet manifolds of the heat exchanger tube elliptical, and the results compared with the values determined empirically, by measuring the mass flow flowmeter installed in the lower part of the heat exchanger tube. A comparison of the results of numerical calculations with the measurement results is presented. The turbulence model k-ɛ, k-ω and Shear Stress Transport model SST was considered in the computations. It has been verified that the numerical simulation results (mass flow rates) allow to produce the results in good agreement with experimental data.