Numerical investigation of air side performance enhancement of the louver finned heat exchanger with fin geometry modification

Abstract

This study aims to enhance the thermo-hydraulic performance of compact louvered fin heat exchangers, which are critical for efficient thermal management in industrial and electronics cooling applications. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), the objective is to evaluate the impact of innovative fin geometries on heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics. Five novel louver fin configurations namely Half V-shaped, V-shaped, Window-shaped, Double Rectangle Hole, and O-shaped were systematically analysed across a Reynolds number range of 125 to 945 and compared with the default louver fin geometry. The analysis revealed that the Double Rectangle Hole configuration gives superior performance than the others, particularly at a Reynolds number of 745 and it is achieving a 33 and 50% higher heat transfer coefficient compared to the Half V-shaped and Window-shaped designs, respectively. This performance gain was accompanied by a minimal increase in pressure drop of just 0.92 and 0.42% over the Half V-shaped and Window-shaped design respectively and it is indicating minimal energy loss. The findings suggest that the Double Rectangle Hole design provides an optimal balance between thermal effectiveness and manageable pressure loss, making it a promising fin design for next-generation compact heat exchangers in high-performance cooling systems.