A Comparative Analysis of Annular Fin Array Under Multi-objective Optimization

This study presents a comparative analysis of different optimum annular fin arrays, which involve fins of constant thickness, nonlinearly varying thickness, and step change in thickness. The designs of the fin arrays are formulated as multi-objective optimization problems aiming at maximizing the heat dissipation rate and surface efficiency while minimizing the total fin volume. Computing the heat dissipation rate through the hybrid spline difference method (HSDM), the multi-objective optimizer NSGA-II is utilized for optimizing the considered three-objective functions in various combinations. Finally, to facilitate one in selecting a compromise fin array configuration out of multiple trade-off alternatives, a comparative analysis is performed among the trade-off solutions obtained for the considered three types of fin arrays.