ABSTRACT
The comparative analysis of the heat transfer performances for various commonly used fin geometries is investigated in this work. Design geometries are optimized for minimizing thermal resistance at moderate laminar air velocities. The basis of comparison was chosen to be a circular array of 1mm diameter pin-fins with a 2mm pitch. The pitch-to-width ratio of the other geometries was chosen to provide equal ratios of fin area to base area. Computational fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulation is carried out on a two-dimensional computational domain bounded by planes of symmetry parallel to the flow. The air velocity was in the range of 0.5 to 5m/s. A comparison of heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop is presented. The results showed that the staggered geometries perform better than inline. At lower values of pressure drop and pumping power, elliptical fins work best. At higher values of pressure drop and pumping power, circular pin-fins offer highest performance.