Optimal design of a corrugated louvered fin

Abstract

We carried out a parametric study and optimization procedure to improve the performance of a corrugated louvered fin. Based on the results of the parametric study, we selected the fin pitch, louver pitch, and louver angle as the three most important parameters in performance. A full-factorial design was applied to the three chosen parameters for our design of experimental technique. We used the Kriging method and a micro-genetic algorithm to design an optimal corrugated louvered fin. The JF factor of the resulting optimum model was increased by 14-32% compared to that of the base model for Reynolds numbers in the range 0 <= Re-Lp <= 500. In addition, we propose a modified Suga-Aoki equation that can be used to estimate the optimum shape of a louvered fin with a smaller error than that produced by the original Suga-Aoki equation.