This higher thermal performance, per unit base surface area A may be used to achieve one of the three objectives below: This increase in heat transfer capacity per unit volume comes at the expense of an increase in pressure drop across the heat exchanger.
This pressure drop may be significant, so the heat transfer enhancement is often limited by the pumping power available.
The subject of “enhanced” heat transfer has become much more important to industry with progressing time.
Some enhanced surfaces (e.g., boiling and condensing tubes) are now in their 4th generation.
Nearly all heat exchangers used in the air-conditioning and automotive industries are “enhanced” geometries.