Thermal–hydraulic performance and enhancement mechanisms of a novel asymmetric truncated airfoil fin (ATAF) heat exchanger: a validated computational and experimental study

Abstract The imperative for efficient energy utilization necessitates advancements in heat exchanger technology, yet accurately predicting the performance of novel designs remains a significant challenge. This study addresses this by developing and validating a high-fidelity computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model for a novel heat exchanger, hereafter referred to as the asymmetric truncated airfoil fin (ATAF) heat exchanger, which features a unique internal fin configuration. A three-dimensional model was created in ANSYS Fluent using the standard k–ω turbulence model, with the computational domain discretized into 1.86 million elements. The model was rigorously validated against experimental data, demonstrating excellent predictive accuracy, with the arithmetic mean of the agreement for six key performance metrics calculated to be 98.3%. Results indicate that the ATAF design achieves a 12.97% higher heat transfer rate compared to the best-performing conventional alternative (a channel with transverse fins), with heat transfer enhancement factors of 2.25–3.42 relative to a smooth channel. A key finding of this study is the quantitative deconstruction of the enhancement mechanisms, which reveals that the dominant contribution (66.1%) arises not from a simple increase in surface area (31.8%), but from specific, flow-modifying phenomena, including boundary layer disruption (24.5%), secondary flow generation (18.7%), and vortex formation (15.3%). System-level projections for various applications indicated substantial benefits, including a 7.3–9.8% improvement in overall thermal efficiency and a 16.2–21.3% reduction in the required heat transfer area. These advantages translate into economically viable payback periods of 1.7–2.5 years, justifying the modest 7.9–9.5% increase in capital costs.

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