A two-dimensional fin efficiency analysis of combined heat and mass transfer in elliptic fins

This paper presents a two-dimensional analysis for the efficiency of an elliptic fin under the dry, partially wet and fully wet conditions of a range of value for axis ratios, Biot numbers, and air humidifies. It is shown that the fin efficiencies increase as the axis ratio Ar is increased. For a given axis ratio Ar, the fin efficiency decreases as the fin height l∗ or Biot number is increased. The conventional 1-D sector method overestimates the fin efficiency resulting in increasing error as the axis ratio Ar is increased. In addition, using experimentally determined heat transfer coefficients, it is found that both the fully dry and wet elliptic fin efficiencies are up to 4–8% greater than the corresponding circular fin efficiencies having the same perimeter.