Comparison of results between the present analytical, exact analytical, and numerical

Models for temperature distribution for different fin parameter Z 0 : (1) dry surface
with ideal conditions, (2) wet surface with all non-linearity effects.
The effect of relative humidity of the surrounding air on the temperature
distribution in the wet fin is presented in figure below. With the increase in
relative humidity, the temperature on the fin surface increases due to
production of more latent heat of moisture on the fin.

The effect of relative humidity on the wet

fin surface temperature distribution.

The figure illustrates the deviation of temperature for changes in the

convective heat transfer coefficient. The fin surface temperature is greatly
influenced by the parameter m . Experimental methods are necessary to
ascertain the actual variation of heat transfer coefficient over the wet fin
surface (Elshafei, 2010; Hwang, Kwon and Cho, 2010; Sadeghifar, Kordi, 2011).
Fig 5.4 compares the temperature distribution in a rectangular fin for constant
and variable heat transfer coefficients. Due to increase in thermal resistance,
the temperature dependent heat transfer coefficient induces an enhancement
in fin temperature. The dependency factor m is taken 0, 1, 2 and 5 for
plotting. m  0 Implies constant heat transfer coefficient and gives the
maximum temperature variation in the fin.

Effect of m on the wet fin surface temperature distribution.

Effect of  on temperature distribution in wet fin.

The influence of the variable thermal conductivity parameter  on the

temperature distribution in the fin is depicted in figure for wet surface
condition. As  increases within the practical values, the temperature on the
fin surface decreases as expected from the physical standpoint. But it is also
apparent that the effect of the variable thermal conductivity on fin surface
temperature is marginal. Hence, variation of performance parameters as
function of  is not investigated further in this work. Moreover, it is observed
from the figure that the difference in dimensionless fin surface temperatures
in case of wet fin is more noticeable than that of dry fin for the identical values
of  .

Results of fin performance parameters

The fin performances, namely, fin efficiency and fin effectiveness are regarded
as the important characteristics of fin and are determined for a wide range of
design variables. For this study, the fin efficiency and effectiveness for dry and

B
Comparison of present and exact analytical methods with variation in
heat transfer coefficients: (A) fin efficiency, (B) fin effectiveness.

wet surfaces are demonstrated using both present analytical and exact.

analytical methods. Efficiency and effectiveness are plotted against Z 0 , a

design variable to show the effects of different parameters like RH and m .
Fig A plots the efficiency of dry fin surface with varying m and the validation is
done for the curve with no non-linearity effects. Fig B depicts the effectiveness
with the same conditions as in the previous figure.

The effect of variable heat transfer coefficient on the fin efficiency and
effectiveness is plotted in fig A and B respectively for wet surface conditions.
The performance parameters with constant heat transfer coefficient are drawn
in the same figure for comparison. It is noticed that both the fin efficiency and
effectiveness decreases appreciably with increasing power index of the heat
transfer coefficient, m . The development of a thermal boundary layer over the
fin surface changes the heat transfer coefficient, which increases surface
resistance and in turn decreases fin efficiency and effectiveness.

In fig 5.8A and B, fin performances have been established for different RH
values. The variations are plotted in the same diagram for both dry and wet
surfaces. From the  vs. Z 0 graphs, it is evident that as relative humidity of
surrounding air increases, efficiency decreases. The graph shows that fin
efficiency of wet fins depend weakly on relative humidity. It may be
highlighted here that for a practical temperature difference between fin tip
and fin base, a realistic relationship between specific humidity and fin surface
temperature has been considered in this investigation (cubic polynomial). The
fin tip temperature depends upon the relative humidity of air, ambient
temperature and fin parameter Z 0 as well as fin base temperature. For a
design application, fin base temperature is a constant and so tip temperature
is a function of other parameters mentioned above. In refrigeration and air
conditioning systems, the dehumidification of air on fin surface takes place
only when its temperature is below the dew point temperature of the
surrounding. The value of dew point temperature depends upon the ambient
temperature and relative humidity.

The fin base temperature is a design parameter, generally kept at a constant

value for practical applications. However, for different purpose, its value is
different. A theoretical study has been made to scrutinize variation of fin
performance of wet fins with the base temperature. Figure A and B shows the
fin performances of wet fins as a function of base temperature and relative
humidity. With the increase in fin base temperature, both the sensible and
latent heat transfer rate decreases. Accordingly, efficiency and effectiveness
decreases as Tb increases. The effect is more pronounced in the graph for
100% RH .

A
 B

Effect of variable heat transfer coefficient and fin parameter Z 0 on wet

Fin performance parameters: (A) Fin efficiency, (B) Fin effectiveness.

A
 B
Effect of air relative humidity and fin parameter Z 0 on performance
parameters of wet fin: (A) fin efficiency, (B) fin effectiveness.
 A

B
Influence of fin base temperature and relative humidity on wet fin
performance parameters: (A) fin efficiency, (B) fin effectiveness.
Figure shows the effect of the variable heat transfer coefficient parameter m on the fin
efficiency of both dry and wet surface conditions. The efficiency decreases as m increases
from zero value. The effect is more prominent for the wet surfaces; maximum variation
being observed for 100% RH . This is due to the moisture condensation on the fin surface,
which is maximum for 100% RH . The variation of fin effectiveness has not been shown
here as the nature would be the same as efficiency.

Variation of fin efficiency with power index of heat transfer coefficient.

Optimum dimensions of a fin may be obtained either by maximising the rate of heat transfer
for a fixed fin volume or by minimising the fin volume for a given rate of heat transfer duty.
Depending upon the surface condition (dry and wet) the objective function given in
equation is to be solved simultaneously with constraint equation, in which either the heat
transfer rate or fin volume can be taken as constraint according to the requirement of a
particular application.