A heat exchanger model for air-to-refrigerant fin-and-tube heat exchanger with arbitrary fin sheet

A new model for simulating air-to-refrigerant fin-and-tube heat exchangers, with arbitrary fin sheet which encompasses variable tube diameters, variable tube locations, variable tube pitches, internal as well as external jagged edges, variable number of tubes per bank and variable location of fin cuts, is introduced. This model is based on a segment-by-segment approach and is developed to be a general purpose and flexible simulation tool. To account for fin conduction and air propagation through the heat exchanger, it is spatially modeled on a Cartesian grid. A new methodology for air side propagation, required for arbitrary fin sheets, is introduced. The model prediction is validated against experimental data for a condenser using R410A as the working fluid. The predicted results agree within ±5% of overall heat load, and ±25% for total refrigerant pressure drop.