RESEARCH ARTICLE | JULY 24 2024

Modeling and analysis of fins for different geometry and

materials 
Rohit Kumar Singh; Shubham Bharti; Nirvikar Gautam  ; Shubhrata Nagpal

AIP Conf. Proc. 3111, 050007 (2024)

https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0221455

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24 July 2024 18:01:51

 Modeling and Analysis of Fins for Different Geometry and
Materials

Rohit Kumar Singh1, Shubham Bharti1, Nirvikar Gautam2a, Shubhrata Nagpal2

1
Department of Mechanical Engineering, VEC Ambikapur, India
2
Department of Mechanical Engineering, BIT Durg, Chhattisgarh India
.
a)
Corresponding author: nirvikar4018@gmail.com

Abstract. This research paper investigates the heat dissipation capabilities of different fin shapes and materials. The three
fin shapes chosen for analysis are circular, rectangular, and hexagonal. The analysis is conducted using SIEMENS NX
Unigraphics for design and ANSYS 19.2 and ANSYS 2021 R1 for simulation. In addition to the three different shapes,
five different materials are selected for the fins: Aluminum, Copper, Steel 1008, Stainless Steel (Steel 304), and Copper-
Nickel Alloy. The purpose of this selection is to compare the heat dissipation performance of the various materials in
different applications.By increasing the surface area through the attachment of protrusions, or fins, the heat transfer rate
can be significantly improved. Fins provide an effective means of increasing the surface area exposed to the
surroundings, thereby enhancing heat dissipation. The study involved analyzing the heat dissipation characteristics of the
different fin shapes and materials. The results of the analysis are compared to determine the most suitable fin materials
for specific applications.
In conclusion, this study provides insights into the heat dissipation capabilities of three different fin shapes
(circular, rectangular, and hexagonal) and five different materials (Aluminum, Copper, Steel 1008, Stainless Steel, and

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Copper-Nickel Alloy). The findings of this research can aid in the selection of suitable fin materials for different
applications, allowing for improved heat transfer and overall system performance.

Keywords- ANSYS, Aluminum Copper alloy, Fins, Heat transfer, Modeling, SIEMENS NX, Steel.

INTRODUCTION
Heat transfer is a vital aspect encountered in nearly every field of engineering. It presents challenges that cannot
be solely addressed through thermodynamic principles, necessitating a dedicated analysis focused on heat exchange
phenomena. Transfer of heat can be defined as the process of energy transmission from one region to another due to
temperature differences. The driving force behind heat transfer is the disparity in temperature.
By studying heat transfer, we gain the ability to estimate the rate at which energy flows as heat across system
boundaries, both in steady-state and transient conditions. Additionally, it enables us to determine the temperature
distribution within a system, again in both steady-state and transient scenarios.
The three distinct approach of transfer of heat are
a) Heat Conduction
b) Heat Convection
c) Heat Radiation

Concise Information on Fins

Fins play a pivotal role in heat transfer applications by augmenting the efficiency of heat exchange between a
solid surface and the fluid surrounds it. They are commonly found in various engineering systems such as heat sinks,
radiators, and air conditioning systems. The primary function of fins is to increase the surface area available for heat
transfer. By attaching thin, elongated structures to the surface of a heat-generating component, fins facilitate the
dissipation of heat into the surrounding fluid, thereby improving the overall heat transfer rate.
The design and configuration of fins can vary depending on the specific application and requirements. Fins can
have different shapes, including rectangular, triangular, or circular, and they can be arranged in various patterns such

AICTE & DSIR Sponsored International Conference on Smart and Innovative Development in Science, Engineering & Technology 2023
AIP Conf. Proc. 3111, 050007-1–050007-8; https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0221455
Published under an exclusive license by AIP Publishing. 978-0-7354-5008-0/$30.00

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as straight, circular, or staggered arrangements. The choice of fin geometry depends on factors such as available
space, fluid flow conditions, and desired heat transfer performance.
Analytical and numerical methods are commonly employed to analyze and optimize fin designs. Parameters
such as fin thickness, length, spacing, and material properties are taken into account to achieve the desired heat
transfer performance while considering practical constraints.
Materials with high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum or copper, are commonly used for fins. Fins can be
produced through processes such as extrusion, welding, or affixing a thin metal sheet on an exterior face. Fins can
take on a variety of shapes and configurations, depending on the specific requirements of the heat transfer
application.
The highly conductive material like aluminum or copper is used. Fins augment the heat transfer from a surface
by increasing the area exposed to convection and radiation. The fins can take a variety of shapes.
a) Various shaped fins generally used are:
b) Straight fins of constant cross section.
c) Straight fins of varying cross section.
d) Section Annular fins.
e) Cylindrical fins
f) Pin fins.
Common applications of finned surfaces are with:

Analysis Using ANSYS Software

In ANSYS geometric model of any system can be created using any of these, modeling module of ANSYS,
direct generation or by importing a model created in any other specialized CAD package. In solid modeling, it is
required to specify the geometric boundaries of the model, to set up controls over the size and preferred shape of the
elements followed automatic meshing i.e., generating nodes and elements automatically. While in direct generation
it is necessary to define the position of every node and configuration of each element with respect to size, shape and

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connectivity. Thus, direct generation is a manual technique and requires lot of care while active. There is an
advantage of easily toggle between both methods as required to define distinct parts of the model. Solid modeling is
generally applied for complex models especially three-dimensional solid models. It also supports Boolean
operations while creating the model. It eagerly allows modifications in model geometry to facilitate design
optimization features with some limitations like sometimes require huge CPU time, be bulky and may stop working
under certain circumstances.
Deepak Gupta et al. [1] explored the utilization of cooling fins to enhance the heat transfer rate on a designated
surface. S. Jamala Reddy et al. [2] conducted a comprehensive study involving the design and thermal analysis of
cooling fins, exploring variations in geometry and materials. Furthermore, Sanjay Kumar Sharma et al. [3] employed
Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) as a tool to maximize heat transfer through fins.
In their study, G. Babu et al. [4] delved into the heat transfer dynamics and optimization of engine cylinder fins,
experimenting with diverse combinations of geometry and material. Their primary objective was to scrutinize the
thermal attributes by altering the geometry, material composition, and cylinder fins thickness. To anticipate the
transient thermal performance, they constructed parametric models of cylinders equipped with fins. These models
encompassed variations in geometry, including rectangular, circular, and contoured fins, as well as adjustments in
fin thickness.
A study conducted by Sandhya Mirapalli et al. [5] investigated the heat transfer characteristics of triangular and
rectangular fins. The study focused on an air-cooled engine, in which both rectangular and triangular fins were
strategically positioned around the circumference of the engine cylinder. The investigation involved examining the
heat transfer performance by systematically varying the temperatures on the cylinder surface within the range of 200
ºC to 600 ºC, as well as varying the length of the fins from 6 cm to 14 cm.
K. Alawadhi, et al. [6] has done an excellent work on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis to examine
the phenomenon of natural convection in convergent-divergent fins within marine environments.. The simulation
was performed using ANSYS 12.0 as the designated CFD modeling software.
G. Lorenzini et al. [7] worked on the constructional design of T-shaped assemblies of fins intended for cooling a
cylindrical solid object. The study involved the numerical optimization of such an assembly in order to enhance the
cooling performance.The paper authored by S. R. Durai Raju et al. [8], a comprehensive review of engine cooling
systems is presented.

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 Abdullah et al. [9] investigated the augmentation of natural convection heat transfer from a horizontal
rectangular fin with equilateral triangular cutouts. They compared the heat dissipation rate from the perforated fin to
that of an equivalent solid fin.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A highly conductive material is best suited for fins. We worked on three highly conductive materials for our
analysis on fins. The materials which we used are as follows:
a) Aluminum d) Stainless steel (Steel 304)
b) Copper e) Copper Nickle Alloy
c) Steel 1008
Below is a table outlining the characteristics of these materials:
Table 1 Properties of material used for analysis
Materials
Properties Aluminum Copper Steel 1008 Stainless Steel Copper-
( Steel 304) Nickle Alloy
Density 2689 Kg/m3 8933Kg/m3 7872 Kg/m3 8000 Kg/m3 895 Kg/m3
Isotropic Thermal 237.5 W/m0C 400 W/m0C 45 16.2 W/m0C 22
Conductivity W/m0C W/m0C
Specific heat 951 J/Kg-k 385 J/Kg-k 481 J/Kg-k 520 J/Kg-k 377 J/Kg-k
constant pressure

Design of Fins

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A design which reduces material usage and manufacturing cost for any component is always considerable.
Having that in knowledge we selected three geometries for analysis of fins. The report obtained by three geometries
opens a wide range for use of our designed fins.
The geometries we considered for our previous project study are:
a) Circular Fins
b) Rectangular Fins
c) Hexagonal Fins
In this paper we are considering some geometry for our analysis of fins. They are:
a) Elliptical Regular Arranged Fins
b) Elliptical Fins with Staggered Position
c) Triangular Fins with Staggered Position
d) Semi- Elliptical Fins.

The software used for design purpose is SIMENS NX Unigraphics. The isometric for each Fin is shown below.

a) Circular fin b) Rectangular fin

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 c) Hexagonal fin, d) Elliptical fin
Fig. 1 Regular arranged fins

(a) Circular fin (b) Semi- Elliptical Fins

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(c) Triangular Fins
Fig. 2 Staggered Position

ANALYSIS OF FINS
The software used by us for analysis is ANSYS 19.2

Table-2. Shape of the different material with meshing detail

Meshing Details
Shape of the material Element Size Resolution Nodes Elements
(mm)
Circular 10 Default (2) 326016 181793
Rectangular 10 Default (2) 129190 67971
Hexagonal 5 Default (2) 63058 33596
Elliptical 10 Default (2) 33549 181793
Triangular 10 Default (2) 57049 325849
Semi- Elliptical 10 Default (2) 326016 174686

Calculation for Each Fin

 Elliptical shape and steel 1008 material

Parameters from Design and Analysis:

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 Major and Minor Axis = 40mm m and 30mm
Length of fins (l) = 500 mm orr 0.5 m
Thermal conductivity (k) = 455 W/m°C
Heat Transfer Co-efficient (h) = 22 W/m2°C
Ambient Temperature (Ta)= 222°C
Initial Temperature (T0) = 5000 °C
ℎ
Solution: = = 5.3534

Temperature at tip-
 − 22 1
= 
500 − 22  ℎ(5.3534 ∗ 0.5) + × ℎ(5.3534 ∗ 0.5)
×.
tl= 82.022°C
Similarly the temperature at the tip ffor other shapes and materials are shown by the same calcculation in table-2

Table-3 Tempperature at the tip of the fin for various shape and material type

Shape and type of the materiaal Temperrature at the

tipp (0C)
Elliptical shape and steel 1008 822.022
Elliptical shape and Copper-Nicckle Alloy 40.386
4
Elliptical shape and Stainless stteel (Steel304) 31.581
Triangular shape and steel 10088 55.040
Triangular and Copper-Nickle A Alloy 29.794
Triangular and Stainless steel (SSteel304) 25.522
Semi-Elliptical shape and steel 11008 26.957

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Semi-Elliptical shape and Coppeper-Nickle Alloy 222.515
Semi-Elliptical shape and Stainlless Steel (Steel 304) 222.177

R
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
In this analysis, the temperature dist
stribution of Elliptical Fins, Semi-Elliptical Fins, and Trianngular Fins has been
thoroughly examined using the ANSYS S software. The obtained results are displayed below for reference.
r This study
aimed to understand how different fin in shapes influence the way temperature is distributed,, providing valuable
insights into their thermal performance..

Teemperature Distribution Profile

(a) Steel 1008 material (b) Copper –Nickle Alloy (c) Stainless Stteel (Steel 304)

F
Fig. 3. Elliptical Fins at Regular Position
In Figures 3 (a), (b), and (c), we can see the temperature distributions of elliptical fins made
m from different
materials: steel 1008, Copper-Nickel AAlloy, and Stainless Steel (Steel 304). These figures show howh the temperature
varies for each material when the fins aare placed in regular positions. For steel 1008, we noticed
d that the temperature

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reaches a maximum of 500°C, while tthe minimum temperature recorded is 79.422°C. When it i comes to Copper-
Nickel Alloy, we observed a similar ttrend with a maximum and minimum temperature of 500°C 5 and 39.351°C
respectively. Lastly, for Stainless Steel (Steel 304), the maximum temperature also reaches 500°°C, but the minimum
temperature recorded is even lower, at 31.004°C. These findings help us understand thee temperature range
experienced by elliptical fins made fromm these different materials under the given conditions..

(a) Steel 1008 material (b) Copper –Nickle Alloy (c) Stainless Steel (Steel 304)
Fig. 4. Semi- Elliptical fins
Figures 4 (a), (b), and (c) give us tthe temperature distributions of Semi-Elliptical fins madade of three different
materials: Steel 1008, Copper-Nickel el Alloy, and Stainless Steel (Steel 304). These figu ures show how the
temperature varies for each material wh
when the fins are set up under specific conditions. When we w look at the Semi-
Elliptical fins made of Steel 1008 (Figuure 4a), we found that the maximum temperature they reac ached was 500°C. On
the other hand, the minimum temperat ature recorded was 26.663°C. Now, in Figures 4 (b) and d (c), we can see the
temperature distributions for Copper-N Nickel Alloy and Stainless Steel (Steel 304) fins. Interestiingly, both materials

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reached the same maximum temperaturre of 500°C. However, the minimum temperatures differ slightly. s
For Copper-Nickel Alloy (Figure 4b 4b), the minimum temperature observed was 22.472°C, whereas w for Stainless
Steel (Steel 304) fins (Figure 4c), the mminimum temperature recorded was a bit lower at 22.17 77°C. These findings
provide valuable insights into the temp
mperature behavior of Semi-Elliptical fins made from diffferent materials and
positioned under specific conditions. It''s fascinating to see how each material responds to the giv
ven environment

(a) Steel 1008 material (b) Copper –Nickle Alloy (c) Stainlesss Steel (Steel 304)

F
Fig. 5. Triangular fins staggered position
In Figures 5 (a), (b), and (c), we can see the temperature distributions of Triangular fin ns made from three
different materials: Steel 1008, Copperr-Nickel Alloy, and Stainless Steel (Steel 304). These fig
igures show how the
when the fins are placed in staggered positions. Starting with Figure 5 (a), it
temperature varies for each material w
represents the Triangular fins made of Steel 1008. In this case, we observed that the maximum temperature reached
was 500°C, while the minimum temperrature recorded was 53.482°C. Figure 5 (b) shows the tem mperature distribution
of Triangular fins made from Copper--Nickel Alloy. Here, we found that the maximum tempeerature also reached
500°C, but the minimum temperature w was lower at 29.29°C.
Finally, in Figure 5 (c), we have the Triangular fins made from Stainless Steel (Steel 304). Similarly, the
maximum temperature they reached was 500°C, and the minimum temperature observed was 25.271°C. It's

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interesting to see how each material responds to the staggered positioning of Triangular fins, resulting in different
temperature distributions. These findings provide valuable insights into the thermal behavior of Triangular fins made
from different materials.

Comparison of Results
In the table provided below, we have systematically organized and compared the results stemming from diverse
geometric shapes and material compositions. This deliberate side-by-side examination serves the purpose of
conducting a thorough and all-encompassing evaluation of how distinct configurations and material choices exert
their influence on the final outcomes. By presenting this data in a comparative format, we enable a more
comprehensive understanding of the effects brought about by the variations in geometry and material composition
on the results at hand.
Table 4 Outcome Evaluation by Data Analysis
Geometry Material Minimum Temperature
By ANSYS Theoretically
Steel 1008 79.422°C 82.022°C
Elliptical Regular
Copper-Nickle Alloy 39.351°C 40.386°C
Arranged Fins
Stainless Steel (Steel 31.004°C 31.581°C
304)
Steel 1008 79.422°C 82.022°C
Elliptical Fins with
Copper-Nickle Alloy 39.351°C 40.386°C
Staggered Position
Stainless Steel (Steel 31.004°C 31.581°C
304)
Steel 1008 53.482°C 55.04°C

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Triangular Fins with Copper-Nickle Alloy 29.29°C 29.794°C
Staggered Position Stainless Steel (Steel 25.271°C 25.522°C
304)
Steel 1008 26.663°C 26.957°C
Copper-Nickle Alloy 22.472°C 22.5157°C
Semi- Elliptical Fins. Stainless Steel (Steel 22.134°C 22.177°C
304)

Here our main result is the instead of using regular arranged fins we can use staggged position fins which
indirectly have same results but we also required less material in comparison and throughout our study state that
lesser the thermal conductivity more precisely it can cool down the structure.

CONCLUSIONS
In the research paper, the authors have investigated the heat transfer properties of different materials, and based
on the results obtained, they found that steel 304 performed exceptionally well. It was identified as the best material
for heat transfer among the ones tested. The researchers also pointed out that the minimum temperature achieved
with steel 304 allows for a wide range of potential applications, indicating its versatility.
Interestingly, the paper mentioned that aluminum is commonly used for fins currently. However, the researchers
are exploring two other materials with even higher thermal conductivity than aluminum in their work. It's essential
to acknowledge that heat transfer effectiveness depends on various factors, including thermal conductivity, specific
heat capacity, and other material properties. While steel 304 demonstrates advantages in heat transfer, it's crucial to
consider its potential drawbacks as well, such as weight, cost, and corrosion resistance. Likewise, the other materials
being considered may have their own strengths and limitations.
To determine the most suitable material for a particular application, a comprehensive assessment is necessary.
This involves considering all relevant factors, such as cost-effectiveness, practicality, and specific requirements of
the intended application. By conducting a thorough analysis, researchers and engineers can make informed decisions
on the best material for their specific heat transfer needs.

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