MUMBAI, India, May 29 -- Intellectual Property India has published a patent application (202641061602 A) filed by G Ashwin Prabhu; Dr. K. Arun; Mr. M. Arun; and Mr. D. Don Victor, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, on May 14, for 'a systematic approach for optimizing copper tube - aluminium finned heat exchanger performance.'
Inventor(s) include Dr. K. Arun; Mr. M. Arun; and Mr. D. Don Victor.
The application for the patent was published on May 29, under issue no. 22/2026.
According to the abstract released by the Intellectual Property India: "The present study proposes a systematic methodology for optimizing the thermal and hydraulic performance of a copper tube-aluminium finned heat exchanger used in refrigeration, air-conditioning, automotive radiators, and industrial cooling systems. The investigation focuses on improving heat transfer efficiency while minimizing pressure drop, material usage, and operating cost. Copper tubes were selected because of their high thermal conductivity of approximately 385 W/m K, whereas aluminium fins provide lightweight construction and enhanced surface area with a thermal conductivity of nearly 205 W/m K. Experimental and analytical evaluations were carried out by varying fin spacing (1.5-3.5 mm), tube diameter (8-14 mm), air velocity (1-5 m/s), and fin thickness (0.1-0.3 mm). Results indicate that reducing fin spacing from 3.5 mm to 2.0 mm increased the overall heat transfer coefficient by nearly 22%, due to improved air-side convection. However, a further reduction below 2.0 mm caused a pressure drop increase of about 18%, leading to higher fan power consumption. Similarly, increasing air velocity from 1 m/s to 4 m/s enhanced the heat transfer rate by approximately 35%, although pumping power requirements increased significantly beyond 4 m/s. An optimized configuration consisting of 10 mm copper tubes, 2 mm fin spacing, and 0.15 mm aluminium fin thickness achieved a thermal effectiveness of 0.82 with a 15% reduction in material cost and 12% lower energy consumption compared to conventional designs. The proposed optimization approach improves thermal reliability, compactness, and operational efficiency while maintaining economical manufacturability. The study also demonstrates that proper geometric optimization can extend exchanger life by reducing thermal stresses and corrosion effects. Applications of the optimized copper tube-aluminium finned heat exchanger include HVAC systems, automobile radiators, power plant condensers, refrigeration units, electronic cooling devices, and renewable energy thermal management systems, where high heat dissipation and energy-efficient performance are critically required."
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