Convective heat transfer and pressure loss in rectangular ducts with drop-shaped pin fins

It has been experimentally researched that convective heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics in rectangular channels with staggered arrays of drop-shaped pin fins in crossflow of air. The effects of arrangements of pin fins on heat transfer and resistance are discussed and the row-by-row variations of the mean Nusselt numbers are presented. By means of the heat/mass transfer analogy and the naphthalene sublimation technique, the heat transfer coefficients on pin fins and on endwall (base plate) of the channel have been achieved respectively. The total mean heat transfer coefficients of pin fin channels are calculated and the resistance coefficients are also investigated. The experimental results show that heat transfer of a channel with drop-shaped pin fins is higher than that with circular pin fins while the resistance of the former is much lower than that of the latter in the Reynolds number range from 900 to 9000.