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Fin Comparison Chart
Extruded Aluminum Fin Operational Criteria Resistance to bending Low pressure cleaning High pressure cleaning Fin / tube contact (effectiveness) Fin / tube contact (mechanical longevity) Fin / tube contact (protection from exposure) Resistance to fouling (one row) Resistance to fouling (multiple row) Mitigation of moisture carry-over Handling of thermal cycling Handling of differential thermal expansion Handling of tube vibration Tube replacement Design Criteria Fin spacing options (fins per inch) Fin thickness options Fin height options Tube pitch / row pitch options Enhancement options Temperature limit * Thermal effectiveness ** Cost effectiveness *** * 0.010 Thick Aluminum Platefin 0.020 Thick Aluminum Platefin 0.010 Thick Copper Platefin 0.010 Thick Solder Coated copper 0.010 Thick Applied Aluminum 0.015 Thick L-Footed Aluminum 0.015 Thick Embedded Aluminum

Excellent Fair Excellent Fair Poor Fair Good Good Excellent Good Excellent Good Good Good Excellent Excellent Excellent Poor Good Poor Poor Poor Good Good Excellent Good Good Good Excellent Poor Good Excellent Excellent Good Good Good Excellent Fair Good Excellent Excellent Good Good Good Excellent Poor Good Poor Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Good Fair Good Good Good Fair Fair Fair Fair Fair Excellent Excellent Excellent Fair Fair Fair Fair Good Fair Fair Fair Good Fair Good Excellent Good Fair Fair Fair Good Good Good Good Fair Good Good Good Fair Fair Fair Fair Replacement of individual finned tubes or re-tubing a finned tube exchanger is not considered and viable economical option.

Fair Poor Fair Excellent Poor 450F Fair Fair

Good Good Poor Fair Excellent 350F Good Excellent

Good Good Poor Fair Excellent 375F Good Good

Good Good Poor Fair Excellent 450F Excellent Good

Excellent Fair Fair Excellent Poor 450F Good Fair

Excellent Good Good Excellent Poor 250 Fair Good

Good Good Good Excellent Poor 350F Fair Fair

Good Good Good Excellent Poor 750F Fair Poor

The temperature limit is based on the actual fin temperature, not necessarily the fluid temperature inside or outside the finned tube. The fin temperature is determined under operating conditions when both fluids are flowing.

** Thermal effectiveness is based on general fin efficiency for typical operating ranges. In all applications one fin will be more thermally suited than others and that will changed in different applications depending on the fluids, temperatures, flows and pressure drop limitations. *** Cost effectiveness is a relative rating based on $/BTU not considering whether the particular fin might be suited for the application.

Click Here For a Description of Fin Types

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