ASME SA179 Extruded Finned Tube for Air-Cooled Heat Exchanger

Our ASME SA179 Extruded Finned Tubes for Air-Cooled Heat Exchangers are designed to increase the external heat-transfer surface area of seamless carbon steel tubes, providing an efficient solution for air-side heat transfer applications.

The base tube is manufactured from ASME SA179 / ASTM A179 seamless cold-drawn low-carbon steel, while the fin layer is typically made from aluminum alloy. Through a controlled extrusion process, the aluminum fin material is mechanically bonded around the tube and formed into continuous fins.

This bimetallic construction combines the mechanical strength and pressure-bearing capability of the SA179 tube with the excellent thermal conductivity and lightweight characteristics of aluminum. The resulting finned tube is particularly suitable for air-cooled heat exchangers where the air-side heat-transfer resistance is a major consideration.

Compared with a bare tube, the extended fin surface provides a significantly larger heat-transfer area within a similar equipment footprint, helping heat exchanger designers achieve the required thermal duty with a more compact tube bundle.

• Base tube material: ASME SA179 / ASTM A179 seamless carbon steel
• Fin type: Extruded fin
• Typical fin material: Aluminum alloy
• Tube construction: Seamless cold-drawn tube
• Fin-to-tube connection: Mechanically bonded through extrusion
• Application: Air-Cooled Heat Exchangers and related air-side heat-transfer equipment
• High external surface area: Continuous fins provide an enlarged heat-transfer surface
• Good thermal contact: Mechanical bonding minimizes the contact resistance between the tube and fin layer
• Lightweight fin structure: Aluminum fins provide efficient heat transfer without significantly increasing tube-bundle weight
• Suitable for customized designs: Tube diameter, wall thickness, fin height, fin thickness, pitch and length can be manufactured according to project requirements

ASME SA179 extruded finned tubes are commonly used in:

• Air-Cooled Heat Exchangers (ACHE)
• Fin-Fan Heat Exchangers
• Air-Cooled Condensers
• Process Fluid Coolers
• Gas Coolers
• Oil Coolers
• Compressor Cooling Systems
• Petrochemical Process Cooling Equipment
• Refinery Heat Transfer Equipment
• Industrial HVAC and refrigeration equipment
• General industrial heat exchangers

For process plants, these finned tubes are particularly useful where cooling is performed by ambient air instead of cooling water, helping reduce dependence on water-based cooling systems.

The actual tube and fin dimensions are normally selected according to the thermal design, tube bundle configuration, operating conditions and customer drawings.

ASME SA179 specifies a low-carbon steel suitable for seamless heat exchanger and condenser tubes. Its relatively simple chemical composition provides good cold-working characteristics and supports the manufacturing requirements of drawn seamless tubing.

The low carbon content is one of the characteristic features of SA179. The material is intended primarily for heat-transfer service rather than high-temperature alloy-steel applications.

The mechanical properties below apply to the SA179 base tube, not to the complete bimetallic finned-tube assembly.

The combination of adequate strength and good ductility makes SA179 suitable for cold-drawn seamless tubing used in heat exchangers and condensers.