Experimental Study on Heat Transfer Characteristics and Pressure Drop of a Fin and Microchannel Flat-Tube Heat Exchanger

The microchannel heat exchanger is an advanced technology that allows a larger heat exchange surface area per unit volume, which enhances the heat exchange efficiency and reduces the overall dimension for the thermal system. In this study, the water flow rate, and the inlet temperature of water for the fin flat-tube heat exchanger were changed to analyze heat transfer characteristics, including the heating capacity, heat flux, and heat transfer efficiency. In addition, pressure drop, and the performance index are also evaluated. This study shows that the heat capacity and heat flux tend to increase steadily with the increase of the inlet water temperature and feed water flow rate. The Inlet water temperature has an insignificant effect on the thermal effectiveness of the microchannel heat exchanger. Besides, the feed water flow rate is the main parameter in enhancing the thermal effectiveness of the testing sample. Furthermore, the inlet water temperature greatly influenced the performance index and pressure drop in the design and operation of microchannel heat exchanger.