An Experimental Investigation of Aero-Foil-Shaped Pin Fin Arrays

Pin fins are widely used in applications where effective heat transfer is crucial. Their compact design, high surface area, and efficient heat transfer characteristics make them a practical choice for many thermal management applications. But for a high heat transfer rate and lightweight application, aerofoil shape pin fins are a good option. This work focuses on an experimental model analysis of pin-fins with aerofoil shapes. The results were evaluated between perforation, no perforation, inline, and staggered fin configurations. Aluminum is used to make the pin fins array. The experiment is carried out inside a wind tunnel, and the heat supply varies between 500 to 3000 W. An electric heater, fan, anemometer, thermocouple, pressure transmitter, data logger, and computer system were used for this experiment. The friction factor, thermal efficiency, performance efficacy, and pressure drop of a pin fin aerofoil shape have been assessed. A comparison study was carried out with and without perforations and inline and staggered arrangements. In terms of overall efficacy, different aerofoil shape pin fin arrays achieve values varying between 1.8 and 14.7. The acquired data demonstrate that perforated staggered configurations perform 10% better than inline. Furthermore, the pressure drop is reduced by 50% in staggered setups. The empirical correlation of Dittus-Bolter and Blasius correlations was used to validate the experimental heat dissipation enhancement factor requirements of Nusselt number and friction factor. The validation of the experiment using correlation has been completed satisfactorily. Hence, experimental results prove that aerofoil pin-fin arrays can be used successfully for applications like the electronics industry, heat exchangers and gas turbine blade cooling.