The present experimental investigation relates to the convective heat transfer determination around annular fins mounted on a rotating cylinder with air crossflow. The mean convective heat transfer coefficient can be identified by solving the inverse conduction heat transfer problem during the fin cooling process. We used an inverse method, based on the mean squared error, to develop a model of mean convective heat transfer, taking lateral conduction into account. Tests were carried out for rotational Reynolds numbers Re-omega between 2150 and 17,200, air crossflow Reynolds numbers Re-U between 0 and 39,600, and fin spacings u in the range 10 mm to infinity, u = (infinity) corresponding to the single disk case. For each fin spacing, the relative influences of the rotational and airflow forced convections on the heat transfer were analyzed and correlations of the mean Nusselt number on the fin, relative to both Reynolds numbers, are proposed. Moreover, an efficiency definition, that allows optimal geometrical configurations of the finned cylinder to be identified for the given operating conditions, is proposed. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.