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Plate Fin Vs Annular Fin

Plate fin heat exchangers were traditionally used for commercial and light industrial applications, while annular fin heat exchangers were more common for industrial uses. However, plate fin manufacturers have developed more robust plate fin technologies, making plate fins now suitable for many industrial applications. Plate fins provide a very large surface area and evenly distribute heat by having fins that run continuously across tubes, bonding all tubes together into a single unit. In contrast, annular fins are applied individually to each tube. Plate fin designs can match or exceed the thermal performance of annular fins and allow flexibility in materials and geometry to replace most common annular fin coil applications when designed properly based on factors like fin temperature and thickness.

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319 views1 page

Plate Fin Vs Annular Fin

Plate fin heat exchangers were traditionally used for commercial and light industrial applications, while annular fin heat exchangers were more common for industrial uses. However, plate fin manufacturers have developed more robust plate fin technologies, making plate fins now suitable for many industrial applications. Plate fins provide a very large surface area and evenly distribute heat by having fins that run continuously across tubes, bonding all tubes together into a single unit. In contrast, annular fins are applied individually to each tube. Plate fin designs can match or exceed the thermal performance of annular fins and allow flexibility in materials and geometry to replace most common annular fin coil applications when designed properly based on factors like fin temperature and thickness.

Uploaded by

zlajavi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Industrial Heat Exchangers

www.deltathx.com
Plate Fin vs Annular Fin
Historically most industrial finned tube heat exchangers installed in North America were constructed using annular fins and
plate fin coils were relegated to mostly commercial or light industrial applications. This was mostly driven by industry
preference and manufacturing capabilities. Several years ago plate fin manufactures developed more rugged and more
versatile finning capabilities and, as a result, plate fin is well suited (and sometimes better suited) in many industrial
applications.
Brief Description of Construction
Plate Fin: Tube holes are pressed in thin sheets of metal, where tubes are inserted and then
expanded. This highly efficient fin type provides a very large surface area that helps evenly
distribute heat. The fins run continuously across the face and depth of the coils so every tube is
bonded together with the fins and the coil bundle becomes one unit.
Annular Fin: Fins are applied to the outside of each individual tube and mechanically bonded to
the tube to allow for heat transfer. The finned tubes are installed in the coil allowing
each tube to operate as an individual unit. There are many types of annular fins
designated by the method by which the fin is attached to the tube. The more common
fin types used in industrial finned tube heat exchangers are;

Tension Wound Fin


L Footed Fin
Overlapped L Fin
Solder Coated Fin

Embedded Fin
Extruded Fin
Root Brazed Fin
Weld-on Fin

For a complete description of fin types click here


For a comparison of fin types click here
Replacing Annular Fin Coils with Plate Fin design
Mechanical Comparison
Since there is such a variety in the size, geometry and attachment type of annual finned
tubes it is difficult to compare line for line against plate fin. There is enough flexibility in
the materials, geometry and fin thickness of plate fin designs that they can replace
annular fins in most common coil applications. Good engineering principles should be
followed and attention paid to; fin root temperature, fin thickness, corrosion concerns,
cleaning requirements, possibility of condensation, temperature cycling, air side pressure
drop and any other concern that is considered when selecting a fin design.
Thermal Comparison
Plate fin designs can typically match or exceed the thermal performance and pressure drop of annual fin for a given fin count
and thickness. Again, due to the flexibility in the materials, geometry and fin thickness of plate fin designs a thermal
replacement plate fin design can be developed for most common coil applications.
Approach
For heating and cooling coil applications using fin types of; tension wound, L footed, overlapped L or extruded, replacement
with a similar fin thickness, spacing and material in a plate fin design would typically result in similar performance to the
annular fin design. Every design, however, has unique aspects so before a change in fin type is made it should be reviewed
by an experienced heat transfer application engineer. In most cases, solder coated, embedded, root brazed or weld on fin are
used for specific reasons (often for high temperature, strength or corrosion resistance). Consideration must be given to
whether these fin types can be replaced with a plate fin design.

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