INVESTIGATION OF THE PERFORMANCE OF A
SPIRAL-COIL FINNED TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER
UNDER DEHUMIDIFYING CONDITIONS

P. Naphon and S. Wongwises

UDC 621.184.64

In the present study, heat-transfer characteristics of 
spiral-coil finned tube heat exchangers under dehumidifying conditions 
are investigated. A mathematical model of Ho et al. is modified by 
including fin efficiency. The derivation and solution methodologies 
are explained in detail. The effects of various inlet conditions of 
fluids flowing through the heat exchanger are discussed. The agreement 
of the model with the experimental data is satisfactory, with an average 
error of 1.2 and 4.0% for enthalpy and humidity effectivenesses, respectively.

Fluid Mechanics, Thermal Engineering and Multiphase Flow 
Research Laboratory (FUTURE), Department of Mechanical Engineering, 
King Mongkut's University of Technology, Thonburi, Bangmod, Bangkok 
10140, Thailand. Tel.: +662-470-9115; Fax: +662-470-9111; email: 
somchai.won@kmutt.ac.th. Published in Inzhenerno-Fizicheskii Zhurnal, 
Vol. 76, No. 1, pp. 71-79, January-February, 2003.