Finned Tube Radiator

Finned Tube Heat Exchangers (FTHE) /Air Fin Coolers:
Method of Heat Transfer:
A Finned Tube heat exchanger, is simply a pressure vessel which cools a circulating fluid within finned tubes by forcing ambient air over the exterior of the tubes. This is also known as the device for rejecting heat from a fluid directly to ambient air. The main advantage of an FTHE is that it does not require water, which means the plants requiring large cooling capacities need not be located near a supply of cooling water.

Purpose of Finned Tube Heat Exchangers:   
1. Finned Tube heat exchangers are generally used where a process system generates heat which must be removed, but for which there is no local use. This is also one of the simplest ways to use the ambient air.

  1. They can be used with closer approach temperatures, but often become expensive compared to a combination of a cooling tower and a water-cooled heat exchanger.
  2. The most important thing is that they are a “green” solution as compared to cooling towers and shell and tube heat exchangers, because they do not require an auxiliary water supply (water lost due to drift and evaporation, plus no water treatment chemicals are required).