Parametric study on turbulent heat transfer and flow characteristics in a circular tube fitted with louvered strip inserts

In the present work, characteristics of heat transfer, flow resistance, and overall thermo-hydraulic performance of turbulent airflow in a circular tube fitted with louvered strip inserts were investigated through numerical simulation. Our main attention was paid to the effects of the slant angle and pitch of the turbulators. The results show that the Nusselt number is augmented by 2.75–4.05 times (Nu = 108.71–423.87) as that of the smooth tube. The value of performance evaluation criterion (PEC) lies in the range of 1.60–2.05, which demonstrates that the louvered strip insert has a very good overall thermo-hydraulic performance. Moreover, the computational results indicate that larger slant angle and small pitch can effectively enhance the heat transfer rate, but also increase the flow resistance. Furthermore, it is noted that the Nusselt number and friction factor are more sensitive to the slant angle than the inserts pitch. Comparatively steady and good overall thermo-hydraulic performance can be obtained at a moderate slant angle together with a small pitch. All these data show that the louvered strip is a promising tube insert which would be widely used in heat transfer enhancement of turbulent flow.     

Experimental studies on heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of turbulent flow through a circular tube fitted with regularly spaced helical screw-tape inserts

Experimental investigation of heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of circular tube fitted with full-length helical screw element of different twist ratio, and helical screw inserts with spacer length 100, 200, 300, and 400 mm have been studied with uniform heat flux under turbulent flow condition. The experimental data obtained are verified with those obtained from plain tube published data. The effect of spacer length on heat transfer augmentation and friction factor, and the effect of twist ratio on heat transfer augmentation and friction factor have been presented separately. The decrease in Nusselt number for the helical twist with spacer length is within 10% for each subsequent 100 mm increase in spacer length. The friction factor for helical twist insert with spacer length 100 mm is very much close to value of friction factor for full-length helical twist for all Reynolds number and decreases by 5% for each 100 mm increment space length indicating that there is no much reduction in pumping power. Hence the helical screw inserts with spacer can only be used for heat augmentation only in turbulent flow with less reduction in pumping power. Empirical correlation were formed for explaining data and found to fit experimental data within ±10%, and ±20%, respectively, for Nusselt number and friction factor.     

Heat transfer and pressure drop of Al2O 3/water nanofluid in a tube equipped with double twisted tape inserts with different pitch ratios

In this paper, the effects of dual twisted tape inserts with different pitches on turbulent heat transfer and pressure drop are numerically investigated. A nanofluid is flowed inside a circular tube, which is under a constant heat flux condition. The Reynolds number varies from 5000 to 20 000 at a fixed Prandtl number of 7. Nine different cases are considered in the current study; three cases consist of a single twisted tape insert, three cases are related to twin twisted tapes with identical pitches, and the remaining cases consist of dual twisted tapes with different pitches for each insert. The predicted results indicate that inserting a dual twisted tape effectively increases the heat transfer 1.5 times more than that of the single insert with the penalty of high pressure drop. Also, the relative Nusselt number decreases with increase in Reynolds number for all the investigated cases. The heat transfer rates induced by dual inserts with different pitch ratios are higher than those with identical pitch ratios. Moreover, the maximum and minimum thermal performances belong to cases with Tr ₁ = 2, Tr ₂ = 3 and Tr ₁ = 2, Tr ₂ = 2, respectively. And finally, it is stated here that adding nanoparticles improves the thermal performance of all cases in all the investigated Reynolds numbers.     

Experimental studies on heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of turbulent flow through a circular tube with small pipe inserts

Heat transfer performance and pressure drop tests were performed on a circular tube with small pipe inserts. These inserts with different spacer lengths (S = 100, 142.9 and 200 mm) and arc radii (R = 5, 10 and 15 mm) were tested at Reynolds numbers between 4000 and 18,000. Tap water was used as working fluid. The use of pipe inserts allowed for a high heat transfer coefficient with relatively low flow resistance. The Nusselt number and friction factor increase with the decrease in spacer length. Optimal results were obtained for S = 100 mm (R = 10 mm). Heat transfer rates and friction factors were enhanced by 2.09–2.67 and 1.59–1.85 times, respectively, to those in the plain tube. Performance evaluation criterion (PEC) values were approximately 1.79–2.17. The Nusselt number and friction factor increase with the decrease in arc radius. Small pipe inserts with R = 5 mm and S = 100 mm show maximal heat transfer rates of 2.61–3.33 and friction factors of 1.6–1.8 times those of the empty tube. The PEC values were 2.23–2.7. Compared with other inserts, pipe inserts can transfer more heat for the same pumping power for their unique structure.     

Heat transfer augmentation through the use of wire-rod bundles under constant wall heat flux condition

This article reports an experimental investigation on heat transfer, friction factor and thermal performance characteristics of turbulent flow (6000 ≤ Re ≤ 20,000) in heat exchanger tubes with wire-rod bundles as flow turbulators. The experiments were carried out at three different pitch ratios (P/D) of 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0 and three wire-rod number per bundle (N) of 4, 6 and 8. The experimental results show that Nusselt number increases with increasing Reynolds number and wire-rod number per bundle, and decreasing pitch ratio (P/D) of the turbulators. As compared to the results of the tube without wire-rod (the plain tube), heat transfer rate and friction factor are respectively increased in ranges of 3.5 to 68.8% and 156 to 353%, depending on the operating conditions. At the same pumping power, the use of wire-rod turbulators results in thermal performance factor up to 1.02 times of those of the plain tube. In addition, the correlations that developed from the present experimental data for Nusselt number, friction factor and thermal performance factor are also presented.     

Parametric study on the heat transfer characteristics in a circular tube with helical tape insert under laminar flow conditions

In the present study, the effect of a helical coiled tape on the heat transfer characteristics in a tubular heat exchanger has been studied. Numerical analysis is carried out in a tubular heat exchanger with a helical coiled tape insert under laminar flow conditions. The heat transfer characteristics, like Nusselt number (Nu) and friction factor (f), have been determined. Numerical modeling is undertaken and validated using analytical results. To study the parametric variation, simulation is carried out for different width ratios (WR) and twist ratios (TRs). It is observed that Nu increases as the WR is increased and the TR is reduced. The thermohydraulic performance index (THPI) is measured and found to be higher for a combination of a higher WR and a higher TR. From the tested values, it is seen that for a combination of WR = 3 and TR = 1.25, the maximum THPI was observed. It is concluded that both the tape width and pitch will significantly influence the thermohydraulic characteristics in a tubular heat exchanger with a helical tape insert inserted.     

Experimental and numerical study on the heat transfer enhancement over scalene and curved-side triangular ribs

The present study examines the turbulent flow of mixed convection heat transfer enhancement within a rectangular channel considering three different novel shapes of ribs (smooth, scalene, and curved-side triangular). The investigations were conducted experimentally by developing a new test facility, while the numerical computations were carried out using the finite volume method. The experimental work involves constructing of the channel, ribs, and all equipment and measurement instruments. The numerical work is based on ANSYS FLUENT considering the k–ε turbulent model. The results are presented and compared in terms of Nusselt number, friction factor, and performance factors for Reynolds numbers ranging between 3000 and 12,000. By comparing the average values of the numerically obtained Nusselt number with experimental measurements, the data showed a close agreement with a maximum difference of 5%. It also found that scalene triangular ribs (STRs) provide better performance in terms of heat transfer, although introducing a slight increase in friction losses. STRs showed (20%) increase in Nusselt number compared with smooth channel, and 3%–6% increase in Nusselt number compared with curved-side triangular ribs (CTRs). In contrast, CTRs have a lower friction factor value of 5% compared with STRs at a low value of a Reynolds number of 3000. Furthermore, the Nusselt number changes significantly (250% increase) by increasing the value of the Reynolds number from 3000 to 12,000. A thermal performance factor of up to 1.28 was achieved for the STRs at the lowest range of Reynolds' number of 3000. The findings from the present study are of practical importance for industries requiring heat transfer enhancement techniques to improve heat transfer equipment performance.     

Experimental investigation on heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics in a smooth tube with different twisted tape inserts

Experiments are performed to investigate the impact of inserts (TTI, TBI, and TBHI) accompanied by different twist ratios (ie, y/w = 3.69, 4.39, and 5.25) with uniform heat flux condition to study the performance characteristics of pressure drop, rate of heat flow, and heat transfer enhancement. Experiments were carried out on different twisted tape inserts in a turbulent flow regime by choosing suitable Reynolds number between 3100 and 39 000. A plain tube is tested and compared with the empirical correlations and are found to be in good agreement with the experimental data. In the case of twisted tape inserts stronger swirl flow is observed along the length of the tube. The variation of reduction in pressure along the length of tube and heat flux in the form of the friction factor and Nusselt number are represented graphically. Thermal performance factor tends to increase with a decrease in the taper twist ratio. The maximum enhancement in Nusselt number and friction factor was found to be in the case of TBI and TBHI. Experimental results are justified and are found to be reliable and accurate with the analytical results, with ±5% and ±4.2% deviation for Dittus‐Boelter and Petukhov correlation in the case of Nusselt number and ±7.2% deviation, respectively, for loss in the friction.     

Pressure drop and heat transfer augmentation due to coiled wire inserts during laminar flow of oil inside a horizontal tube

An experimental investigation has been carried out to study the enhancement in heat transfer coefficient by coiled wire inserts during heating of engine oil inside a horizontal tube. The test-section was a double-pipe counter-flow heat exchanger. The engine oil flowed inside the internal copper tube, while saturated steam, used for heating the oil, flowed in the annulus. First of all, the data were acquired for the heating of engine oil while flowing in the plain tube. Later, seven coiled wires having pitches of 12–69 mm and wire diameters of 2.0 mm and 3.5 mm were put one by one in the oil-side of test-section. The effects of Reynolds number and coiled wire geometry on the heat transfer augmentation and fanning friction factor were studied. Finally, two empirical correlations have been developed for predicting the heat transfer enhancement of these coiled wire inserts. These correlations predict the experimental Nusselt number in an error band of ±20 percent.     

Investigation of twisted tape inserted solar water heaters—heat transfer, friction factor and thermal performance results

Heat transfer in a solar water heater could be enhanced by means of twisted tapes, inserted inside the fluid flow tubes, which induce swirl flow and act as turbulence promoters. Experimental investigations for a solar water heater with twisted tape inserts having twist pitch to tube diameter ratio ranging from 3–12 have been carried out for varying mass flow rates. The results on heat transfer and friction data have been found to compare well with available results. Within the range of investigated parameters, the heat transfer in the twisted tape insert collectors has been found to increase by 18–70%, whereas the pressure drop increased by 87–132%, as compared to plane collectors. An expression correlating the Nusselt numbers in twisted tape and plane collectors, the twist pitch ratio has been developed in the form of Nu_s/Nu=1.3+2.88/y, which predicts the heat transfer within the range of the present investigation. Results conclude that such collectors would be preferable for higher grade energy collection as it is also at higher rate.Solar water heaters having twisted tape inserts inside the flow tubes perform better than the plane ones. It has been observed that heat losses are reduced (due to the lower value of the plate temperature) consequently increasing the thermal performance by about 30% over the plane solar water heaters under the same operating conditions. The effect of twisted-tape geometry, flow Reynolds number and intensity of solar radiation on the thermal performance of the solar water heater has been presented. It has been found that the twisted-tape collectors perform remarkably better in the lower range of flow Reynolds number (Re≈12,000), beyond which the increase in thermal performance is monotonous. It has also been found that such collectors might perform even better at higher values of intensity of solar radiation.     

Airside performance of fin-and-tube heat exchangers in dehumidifying conditions – Data with larger diameter

This study presents the airside performance of the fin-and-tube heat exchangers having plain fin geometry with a larger diameter tube (D_c = 15.88 mm) under dehumidifying condition. A total of nine samples of heat exchangers subject to change of the number of tube row and fin pitch are made and tested. It is found that the effect of fin pitch on the sensible j factor is, in general, diminished with the rise of tube row. However, there is a unique characteristic of fin pitch at a shallow tube row, the heat transfer performance is first increased at a wider pitch but a further increase of fin pitch lead to a falloff of heat transfer performance due to interactions amid flow development and bypass flow. The influence of tube row on the airside performance is rather small for both heat transfer and frictional characteristics at a fin pitch of 2.1 mm and when the Reynolds number is less than 4000. A slight deviation of this effect is encountered when fin pitch is increased to 2.54 mm or 3.1 mm due to condensate adhered phenomena.     

Heat transfer and friction factor characteristics in turbulent flow through a tube fitted with perforated twisted tape inserts

This work deals with the experimental investigation on Nusselt number, friction factor and thermal performance factor in a circular tube equipped with perforated twisted tape inserts with four different porosities of R_p = 1.6, 4.5, 8.9 and 14.7%. The experiments were conducted in a turbulent flow regime with Reynolds number ranging from 7200 to 49,800 using air as the working fluid under uniform wall heat flux boundary condition. The experimental results revealed that both heat transfer rate and friction factor of the tube fitted with perforated twisted tapes were significantly higher than those of the plain tube. Over the range investigated, Nusselt number, friction factor and thermal performance factor in the tube with perforated twisted tape inserts was found to be 110 –340, 110 –360 and 28–59% higher than those of the plain tube values, respectively. In addition, the empirical correlations of Nusselt number, friction factor and thermal performance factor were formulated from the experimental results of tape inserts.     

Heat transfer improvement in a tube by inserting perforated conical ring and wire coil as turbulators

In the present study, two various passive methods for heat transfer enhancement, including conical ring and wire coil are placed in a tube as turbulators. Four conical rings with four side holes are utilized with the same distance. The wire coil is employed at the center of the tube. The considered Reynolds numbers are between 4000 and 10,000. The studied geometrical parameters contain the pitch and diameter of a wire coil. Four different pitches of wire coil, including 10, 12, 14, and 16 mm, are evaluated. Furthermore, four values of wire coil diameter such as 2, 4, 6, and 8 mm are certain. The obtained numerical results displayed that by declining the pitch of a wire coil (37.5%), the average Nusselt number increases by about 143%. Also, augmentation in wire coil diameter by 300% leads to a growth in average Nusselt number by about 131%. Moreover, owing to utilizing two various turbulators, the pressure drop is significantly high in comparison with the bare tube. At Re = 10,000, growth in the inner diameter of the wire coil by 300% leads to an increase in thermal performance by about 36.12%. Moreover, as the pitch of the wire coil rises by 60%, the thermal performance declines by about 35.71%.     

Heat transfer performance evaluation for turbulent flow through a tube with twisted wire brush inserts

In the present study, the heat transfer performance and friction factor characteristics in a circular tube fitted with twisted wire brush inserts were investigated experimentally. The twisted wire brush inserts were fabricated with four different twisted wire densities of 100, 150, 200, and 250 wires per centimeter by winding a 1 mm diameter of the copper wire over a 5 mm diameter of two twisted iron core-rods. Heat transfer and friction factor data in tubes were examined for Reynolds number ranging from 7,200 to 50,200. The results indicated that the presence of twisted wire brush inserts led to a large effect on the enhancement of heat transfer with corresponding increase in friction factor over the plain tube. The Nusselt number and friction factor of using the twisted wire brush inserts were found to be increased up to 2.15 and 2.0 times, respectively, than those over the plain tube values. Furthermore, the heat transfer performance was evaluated to assess the real benefits of using those type of inserts and the performance was achieved 1.85 times higher compared to the plain tube based on the constant blower power. Finally, correlations were developed based on the data generated from this work to predict the heat transfer, friction factor, and thermal performance factor for turbulent flow through a circular tube fitted with the twisted wire brush inserts in terms of wire density (y), Reynolds number (Re), and Prandtl number (Pr).     

A geometric study on shell side heat transfer and flow resistance of a six-start spirally corrugated tube

Heat transfer enhancement is of great importance for energy efficiency improvement. The utilization of spirally corrugated tubes is one of the efficient ways to strengthen heat transfer. In this article, based on a validated numerical model, the effects of geometric parameters of a six-start spirally corrugated tube, including the pitch p and the corrugation depth e, on the shell side heat transfer and flow resistance performance are numerically investigated, in high Reynolds number conditions ranging from 10,000 to 60,000. The shell side secondary flow velocity distribution, longitudinal vortex distribution, and temperature distribution of a six-start spirally corrugated tube are presented, respectively. In addition, the heat transfer and flow resistance characteristics are evaluated by comparing the Nusselt number and the flow resistance coefficient with these of smooth tubes. Results show that the utilization of six-start spirally corrugated tubes can enhance the heat transfer performance at the expense of an increase of the flow resistance. However, with the same geometric parameters, the Nusselt number increases and the flow resistance coefficient decreases as Reynolds number increases. With the pitch increasing, the Nusselt number and the flow resistance coefficient decrease at a fixed Reynolds number. In contrast, as the corrugation depth increasing, the Nusselt number changes irregularly, and the flow resistance coefficient increases. Finally, correlations for the shell side Nusselt number and flow resistance coefficient of the six-start spirally corrugated tube are established. This work is of significance for engineers and scientists focusing on the heat transfer and the flow resistance characteristics of spirally corrugated tubes and their applications.     

Experimental investigation of heat transfer coefficient and friction factor of ethylene glycol water based TiO2 nanofluid in double pipe heat exchanger with and without helical coil inserts

Heat transfer coefficient and friction factor of TiO₂ nanofluid flowing in a double pipe heat exchanger with and without helical coil inserts are studied experimentally. The experiments are conducted in the range of Reynolds number from 4000 to 15,000 and in the volume concentration range from 0.0004% to 0.02%. The base fluid is prepared by considering 40% of ethylene glycol and 60% of distilled water. The heat transfer coefficient and friction factor get enhanced by 10.73% and 8.73% for 0.02% volume concentration of nanofluid when compared to base fluid flowing in a tube. Heat transfer coefficient and friction factor further get enhanced by 13.85% and 10.69% respectively for 0.02% nanofluid when compared to base fluid flowing in a tube with helical coil insert of P/d = 2.5. The measured values of heat transfer coefficient and friction factor are compared with the published literature. Based on the experimental data, generalized correlations are proposed for Nusselt number and friction factor. The results are presented in graphical and tabular form. Uncertainty analysis is also carried out and the experimental error is in the range of ± 10%.     

Numerical study on heat transfer characteristics of double tube heat exchangers with alternating horizontal or vertical oval cross section pipes as inner tubes

In this paper, a numerical study on the flows in parallel and counter flow double tube heat exchangers with the inner tubes being either alternating horizontal or vertical oval cross section pipes or circular pipes is presented. The results include temperature and pressure contours and velocity vectors at several selected cross sections, axial averaged Nusselt number distributions and distributions of overall heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer enhancement factor versus three different parameters. The computation shows that the introduction of the inner alternating oval tube produces axial vortices in both the inner and outer tube flows, and the tube’s heat transfer performance is improved as a result. In general, the counter flow arrangement returns a higher level of overall heat transfer coefficient than the parallel flow arrangement. However, in terms of the magnitude of heat transfer enhancement, the performance of the parallel flow arrangement is slightly better than that of the counter flow.     

Investigation of heat transfer augmentation in a horizontal tube using different rectangular cut ring inserts

Experimental and computational investigations have studied the heat transfer, friction factor, and enhancement of heat transfer in a horizontal tube equipped with rectangular cut ring inserts and different diameter ratios (D/d) and pitch-to-tube diameter ratios (p/d_t). In the present study, air having a Reynolds no. range of 6700–20,100 was used as a working fluid. Three diameter ratios (D/d) were considered experimentally and numerically as 1.2, 1.25, and 1.3, and the pitch-to-tube diameter ratio (p/d_t) was (1, 0.625, and 0.5). Air was forced as working fluid through the tube and a uniform heat flux of 2000, 3500, and 5000 W/m² was applied through the tube's exterior surface. On the basis of the turbulence model k–ɛ with various parameters, three-dimensional numerical simulations using the ANSYS Fluent software 17.2 were investigated. Under the same working conditions, the results manifested a higher heat transfer rate and friction factor as compared to the plain tube. The results evinced that the Nusselt number for a horizontal tube equipped with rectangular cut ring inserts having various pitch ratios and diameter ratios is discovered to be higher than that for the plain tube. With the increased ring spacing, the overall improvement in heat transfer occurred. And, with a rise in Re, the total enhancement ratio decreased. Consequently, the greatest overall improvement attained was 38% at Reynolds number (Re = 12,860) with the pitch ratio (p/d_t = 1). The three diameter ratios (D/d) of 1.3, 1.25, and 1.2 gives in this study the average thermal performance factor in the value of 1.6, 1.5, and 1.4, respectively. Using the Nusselt number and friction factor, the results are correlated as a function of the Reynolds number, diameter ratio, and pitch ratio.     

Experimental investigation of heat transfer enhancement in a double pipe heat exchanger with a twisted inner pipe

In the present work, an experimental investigation is conducted to address the influence of inner pipe twisting on the overall performance of a double pipe heat exchanger. With the fluid to fluid heat exchange, both parallel and counter flow directions are examined as well. In addition to the original elliptical pipe, three pipes with different numbers of twisting (3, 5, and 7 twists per unit length) constructed from the elliptical pipe are considered where the heat transfer rate and pressure drop are addressed. All tests are carried out in the turbulent flow regime where the Reynolds number (Re) ranging from 5000 to 26,000 and water is used as the working medium. The obtained outcomes show that for both flow directions, there is an enhancement in the heat exchanger overall performance with all considered twisting pipes. The maximum enhancement in the Nusselt number is found to be 1.8 for the parallel flow and around 2.2 for the counter flow compared with the original pipe. The inner pipe with 7 twists, however, improves the overall performance the most, where a maximum performance enhancement factor of 1.63 and 1.9 are observed at Reynolds number of 26,000 in the parallel and counter flow configurations, respectively.     

Numerical investigation on the heat transfer characteristics in a circular pipe using multiple twisted tapes in laminar flow conditions

Introducing passive devices in the form of inserts helps to increase the heat transfer characteristics in a circular pipe. In the present work, the feasibility of using two twisted tapes has been numerically studied under laminar flow conditions. Two twisted tapes with configurations of co‐swirl and counter‐swirl conditions were simulated for Re ranging from 1000 to 2500. Heat transfer characteristics like Nusselt number, friction factor, and thermohydraulic performance index (THPI) were investigated. Even the effect of spacing of the tubes inside the pipe was numerically studied. Results indicated that the insertion of two tapes will improve the performance of the circular tube compared with a single tape in terms of a higher Nu and higher THPI. It is observed that for the co‐swirl condition for a Reynolds number of 1000, Nu and THPI is 38% and 29% higher than using a single tape, whereas, for the counter‐swirl condition, they are 43% and 34% higher than that of the single tape condition. Also, it is revealed that counter swirl positioning of the tape with an L/D ratio 0.56 outperformed all other configurations with the highest THPI.