The work deals with experimental and numerical thermodynamic analyses of cross-flow finned tube heat exchangers of the gas-liquid type. The aim of the work is to determine an impact of the gas non-uniform inlet on the heat exchangers performance. The measurements have been carried out on a special testing rig and own numerical code has been used for numerical simulations. Analysis of the experimental and numerical results has shown that the range of the non-uniform air inlet to the considered heat exchangers may be significant and it can significantly affect the heat exchanger efficiency.

A cross-flow, tube and fin heat exchanger of the water – air type is the subject of the analysis. The analysis had experimental and computational form and was aimed for evaluation of radiative heat transfer impact on the heat exchanger performance. The main element of the test facility was an enlarged recurrent segment of the heat exchanger under consideration. The main results of measurements are heat transfer rates, as well as temperature distributions on the surface of the first fin obtained by using the infrared camera. The experimental results have been next compared to computational ones coming from a numerical model of the test station. The model has been elaborated using computational fluid dynamics software. The computations have been accomplished for two cases: without radiative heat transfer and taking this phenomenon into account. Evaluation of the radiative heat transfer impact in considered system has been done by comparing all the received results.