An analytical method for determination of the performance of a fin assembly under dehumidifying conditions: A comparative study

The present paper establishes an analytical method for determining the performance of a fully wet fin assembly under dehumidifying conditions. A cubic relationship between the humidity ratio of the saturated air and its temperature is taken for calculating driving force for the mass transfer. With this relationship, the governing equation of a fin assembly becomes nonlinear. The Adomian decomposition method is suggested for the solution. The performance parameters, namely, surface efficiency and augmentation factor, are furnished as a function of different design variables. To establish the merit of the work, present results are compared with those values obtained from the previous model and a reasonable difference in results has been noticed. In this point, it can be highlighted that the error associated with the previous model increases with the relative humidity. Finally, the present model is equally useful to predict the performance of a wet fin assembly with the consideration of any other nonlinear effect.