EXPERIMENTAL, NUMERICAL ANALYSIS AND OPTIMIZATION OF ELLIPTICAL ANNULAR FINS UNDER FREE CONVECTION

Abstract

This paper presents the total heat transfer rate by Elliptical Annular Fin (EAF) andCircular Annular Fin (CAF) by experimental set-up, validated CFD analysis and optimization ofEAF using Genetic Algorithm (GA). The experimental result of EAF shows that, the surfacetemperature of EAF goes on decreasing gradually along with the projected surface area in thedirection of the major axis. The STE decreases with the Biot number (Bi) and Shape factor (SF).The rate of reduction of STE with increasing Bi is higher for Bi < 0.013. The experimental resultsare validated with CFD result. The deviation is within acceptable range for surface temperature,STE and fin effectiveness are 5-8%. The GA developed is validated with the experimental result. Itis observed that, the fin effectiveness is higher when the minor axis touches the circumference ofthe CT, and for smaller values of SF and smaller values of the radius of the CT. This optimizationmethod is universal and may be used for optimization of EAF under specified volume.