Abstract: In the applications of heat exchangers, the fin efficiency of heat transfer is the key issue. Thermal distribution within the brazed joints in heat exchanger under loading conditions is investigated in this paper. Simulated results showed that the thermal distribution at the brazed joint zone is related to not only the geometry of the fin and tube, but also the brazed joint topology. A poor brazed joint will result in very poor heat transfer. Thermal contact resistance is adopted to analyze the fin heat efficiency.

Key words: Thermal integrity, Fin efficiency, Thermal contact resistance, FEM