Description
Finned tubes are used in applications involving the transfer of heat from a hot fluid to a colder fluid through a tube wall considering three factors:
(1) the temperature difference between the two fluids; (2) the heat transfer coefficient between each of the fluids and the tube wall; and (3) the surface area to which each fluid is exposed. So the whole concept of finned tubes is to increase outside surface area. The advantage of finned tubes is that by increasing overall heat transfer rate, the total number of tubes required for a given application is reduced, thereby also reducing overall equipment size and decreasing the cost of the project. In many application cases, one finned tube replaces six or more bare tubes at less than 1/3 the cost and 1/4 the volume.
