  Interleaving fins can significantly increase the heat transfer by increasing
the effective area per unit base area. The fins are separated uniformly by a
gap, which is filled with a flow medium to control the heat flux. The heat flux
between the plates depends strongly on the thermal conductivity of the fin
material and the medium between them as well as the dimensions. In earlier
studies empirical a fitting method is used to determine the total effectiveness
of the fins. However, it required complete characterization of the fins for
each new set of operating conditions. In this paper, a simplified analytical
model, but still preserving the main physical traits of the problem is
developed. This model reveals the dimensionless parameter group containing both
material properties and the fin geometry that govern the heat transfer.
Rigorously testing of the model using a numerical finite element model shows an
accuracy within 2% over a large parameter space, varying both dimensions and
material properties. Lastly, this model is put to test with previously measured
experimental data and a good agreement is obtained.
