Heat transfer and pressure drop in a spirally grooved tube with twisted tape insert

In this paper, experimentally determined pressure drop and heat transfer characteristics of flow of water in a 75-start spirally grooved tube with twisted tape insert are presented. Laminar to fully turbulent ranges of Reynolds numbers have been considered. The grooves are clockwise with respect to the direction of flow. Compared to smooth tube, the heat transfer enhancement due to spiral grooves is further augmented by inserting twisted tapes having twist ratios Y ? 10.15, 7.95 and 3.4. It is found that the direction of twist (clockwise and anticlockwise) influences the thermo-hydraulic characteristics. Constant pumping power comparisons with smooth tube characteristics show that in spirally grooved tube with and without twisted tape, heat transfer increases considerably in laminar and moderately in turbulent range of Reynolds numbers. However, for the bare spiral tube and for spiral tube with anticlockwise twisted tape (Y = 10.15), reduction in heat transfer is noticed over a transition range of Reynolds numbers.     

The investigation of groove geometry effect on heat transfer for internally grooved tubes

An experimental study of surface heat transfer and friction characteristics of a fully developed turbulent air flow in different grooved tubes is reported. Tests were performed for Reynolds number range 10,000–38,000 and for different geometric groove shapes (circular, trapezoidal and rectangular). The ratio of tube length-to-diameter is 33. Among the grooved tubes, heat transfer enhancement is obtained up to 63% for circular groove, 58% for trapezoidal groove and 47% for rectangular groove, in comparison with the smooth tube at the highest Reynolds number (Re = 38,000). Correlations of heat transfer and friction coefficient were obtained for different grooved tubes. In evaluation of thermal performance, it is seen that the grooved tubes are thermodynamically advantageous (Ns, a < 1) up to Re = 30,000 for circular and trapezoidal grooves and up to Re = 28,000 for rectangular grooves. It is observed that there is an optimum value of the entropy generation number at about Re = 17,000 for all investigated grooves.     

Experimental investigation on the convective heat transfer in straight and coiled corrugated tubes for highly viscous fluids: Preliminary results

The forced convective heat transfer in straight and coiled tubes, having smooth and corrugated wall, was experimentally investigated in two ranges of the Reynolds number: a lower one (5 < Re < 13) obtained with Glycerol and a higher one (150 < Re < 1500) obtained with Ethylene Glycol. The aim of the research was to verify the effectiveness of these passive heat transfer enhancement techniques when highly viscous fluids are treated. This issue is particularly crucial in applications in which the thermal processing of high Prandtl number fluids is required, such as in the food, chemical, pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries. In the present note, preliminary results, obtained by considering a given geometrical configuration characterized by a tube diameter of 14 mm, a curvature ratio of 0.06, a corrugation depth of 1 mm and a corrugation pitch of 16 mm, are presented. The main conclusion is that the wall curvature enhances heat transfer at all Re, whereas the wall corrugation enhances heat transfer only in the higher Re range; moreover the wall corrugation is totally ineffective in the low Re range and, if helical coils are present, it also destroys the benefit induced by the wall curvature. The largest increment in heat transfer rates is thus obtained by using smooth helical coils at low Re, and corrugated helical coils at larger Re. The results, although of preliminary nature, suggest interesting applications of the passive heat transfer enhancement technique based on smooth wall coiled tubes in the very low Reynolds number values range, while the combined passive technique based on wall corrugation and curvature represents an interesting solution for Reynolds number values in the range 150–1500.     

Velocity field and turbulence effects on heat transfer characteristics from surfaces with V-shaped ribs

The flow field of smooth surfaces and surfaces with V-shaped ribs (V-SR) was studied experimentally with a Laser-Doppler Anemometry (LDA) system. In addition, heat transfer characteristics were experimentally investigated. Heat transfer results from these surfaces under impingement of a circular jet array (5 × 3) using an infrared thermal imaging technique are presented.The velocity profiles were measured at Reynolds number of 10,000 and at H/d equal to 3 and 12. For each H/d position, profiles were collected from x/d = 0 to 6 axial locations. The heat transfer data were obtained at Reynolds numbers equal to 2000, 6000, and 10,000. Along the target plate, different boundary layer profiles were obtained for smooth and V-SR plates at H/d = 3 and 12. Positions of maximum radial and axial velocities and turbulence intensities have been determined for smooth and V-SR plates. For low jet-to-plate spacings, the production of turbulence kinetic energy is higher for the V-SR surfaces as compared to smooth surfaces. For H/d = 3, the radial velocities are higher for the V-SR surfaces as compared to smooth surfaces but for H/d = 12, the radial velocities are not nearly changed all x/d locations. The heat transfer results have also been compared with those of a smooth surface under the same flow conditions to determine the enhancement in the heat transfer coefficient from x/d = 0 to 3 locations. In these locations, the Nusselt numbers are higher for the V-SR surfaces as compared to smooth surfaces. The locations of the peaks and the minima are influenced by cross flow velocities which in turn depend on jet-to-plate spacing and V-SR arrangements. For all results, the Nusselt numbers at the stagnation points decrease with increase in H/d.     

Laminar flow and heat transfer in a periodic serpentine channel with semi-circular cross-section

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) has been used to study fully developed laminar flow and heat transfer behaviour in periodic serpentine channels with a semi-circular cross-section. The serpentine elements are characterised by their wavelength (2L), channel diameter (d) and radius of curvature of bends (R_c), with results reported for Reynolds numbers (Re) up to 450, as well as for a range of geometric configurations (3 < L/d < 12.5, 0.525 < R_c/d < 2.25) at Re = 110. The flow in these channels is characterised by the formation of Dean vortices following each bend. As the Reynolds number is increased, more complex vortical flow patterns emerge and the flow domain becomes increasingly dominated by these vortices. Alignment of flow with vorticity leads to efficient fluid mixing and high rates of heat transfer.Constant wall heat flux (H2) and constant wall temperature (T) boundary conditions and a range of fluid Prandtl numbers (0.7 < Pr < 100) have been examined. High rates of heat transfer and low pressure loss are found relative to fully-developed flow in a straight pipe, with heat transfer enhancements greater than 10 for a Prandtl number of 100.As part of this work, we also obtain an accurate value for the Nusselt number for fully-developed flows in straight semi-circular passages with constant wall temperature, Nu_T = 3.323(±0.001).     

Conjugate heat transfer and thermal stress analysis of wire coil inserted tubes that are heated externally with uniform heat flux

Wire coil inserted tubes are important in engineering applications. The conjugate heat transfer and thermal stress, which is induced by temperature differences in the wire coil inserted tube sheet of heat transfer equipment, were studied numerically in the paper. Three different wire coil inserts, which have different pitches, are considered. The smooth tube is also considered for comparison. Uniform heat flux was applied from the external surface of the tube. Water has been used as fluid. The energy and governing flow equations were solved using a finite difference scheme. The finite element method (FEM) was used to compute the thermal stress fields. The effect of the different wire coils on the thermal stress has been discussed in terms of the results extracted from the FEM. It was found that the maximum thermal stresses ratio occurred in the case of p = 2d for 3 m/s mean water velocity. Some designs to reduce the thermal stress in the wire coiled tube sheet were suggested.     

Heat transfer enhancement by flow bifurcations in asymmetric wavy wall channels

The enhancement characteristics of heat transfer, through a transition scenario of flow bifurcations, in asymmetric wavy wall channels, are investigated by direct numerical simulations of the mass, momentum and energy equations, using the spectral element method. The heat transfer characteristics, flow bifurcation and transition scenarios are determined by increasing the Reynolds numbers for three geometrical aspect ratios r = 0.25, 0.375, and 0.5, and Prandtl numbers 1.0 and 9.4. The transition scenarios to transitional flow regimes depend on the aspect ratio. For the aspect ratios r = 0.25 and 0.5, the transition scenario is characterized by one Hopf flow bifurcation. For the aspect ratio r = 0.375, the transition scenario is characterized by a first Hopf flow bifurcation from a laminar to a periodic flow, and a second Hopf flow bifurcation from a periodic to quasi-periodic flow. The periodic and quasi-periodic flows are characterized by fundamental frequencies ω₁, and ω₁ and ω₂, respectively. For all the aspect ratios and Prandtl numbers, the time-average mean Nusselt number and heat transfer enhancement increases with the Reynolds number as the flow evolves from a laminar to a transitional regime. For both Prandtl numbers, the highest increase in the Nusselt number occurs for the aspect ratio r = 0.5; whereas, the lowest increases happen to r = 0.25. The increase of the Nusselt number occurs at the expense of a higher pumping power, which, for both Prandtl numbers, grows as the aspect ratio increases from r = 0.25 to r = 0.5 for reaching a specific Nusselt number. This enhancement is obtained without the necessity of high volumetric flow rates associated with turbulent flow regimes, which demand much higher pumping powers. Significant heat transfer enhancements are obtained when the asymmetric wavy channel is operated in the appropriate transitional Reynolds number range.     

Turbulent flow and heat transfer in discrete double inclined ribs tube

The turbulent heat transfer and flow resistance in an enhanced heat transfer tube, the DDIR tube, were studied experimentally and numerically. Water was used as the working fluid with Reynolds numbers between 15,000 and 60,000. The numerical simulations solved the three dimensional Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations with the standard k-ε model in the commercial CFD code, Fluent. The numerical results agree well with the experimental data, with the largest discrepancy of 10% for the Nusselt numbers and 15% for the friction factors. The heat transfer in the DDIR tube is enhanced 100 ～ 120% compared with a plain tube and the pressure drop is increased 170 ～ 250%. The heat transfer rate for the same pumping power is enhanced 30 ～ 50%. Visualization of the flow field shows that in addition to the front and rear vortices around the ribs, main vortices and induced vortices are also generated by the ribs in the DDIR tube. The rear vortex and the main vortex contribute much to the heat transfer enhancement in the DDIR tubes. Optimum DDIR tube parameters are proposed for heat transfer enhancement at the same pumping power.     

Experimental study of forced convection heat transfer from a cam shaped tube in cross flows

An experimental investigation has been conducted to clarify forced convection heat transfer characteristic and flow behavior of an isothermal cam shaped tube in cross flow. The range of angle of attack and Reynolds number based on an equivalent circular tube are within 0° < α < 180° and 1.5 × 10⁴ < Re_eq < 2.7 × 10⁴, respectively.The results show that the mean heat transfer coefficient is a maximum at about α = 90° over the whole range of the Reynolds numbers. It is found that thermal hydraulic performance of the cam shaped tube is larger than that of a circular tube with the same surface area except for α = 90° and 120°. Furthermore, the effect of the diameter of the cam shaped tube upon the thermal hydraulic performance is discussed.     

Forced convective heat transfer with impinging slot jets of meso-scale

Measurements were made to investigate the localized heat transfer behavior of submerged slot jets. The experiments were performed with kerosene jets impinging on a vertical constant-heat-flux surface from a meso-scale slot nozzle 125 μm in width with Re = 600–1200 and nozzle-to-plate spacing Z/B = 2–20. Heat transfer coefficients at the stagnation line were measured and correlated as a function of jet Reynolds numbers and Prandtl numbers. Lateral distributions of local heat transfer coefficients were also determined and correlated. Non-monotonic variations and unusual behavior of local heat transfers were observed and attributed to the possible transition from a laminar to a turbulent flow. This transition takes place within an extremely short distance of 400–500 μm.     

Effect of full length twisted tape inserts on heat transfer and friction factor enhancement with Fe3O4 magnetic nanofluid inside a plain tube: An experimental study

Turbulent convective heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of magnetic Fe₃O₄ nanofluid flowing through a uniformly heated horizontal circular tube with and without twisted tape inserts are estimated experimentally. Experiments are conducted in the particle volume concentration range of 0 < φ < 0.6%,twisted tape inserts of twist ratio in the range of 0 < H/D < 15and Reynolds number range of 3000 < Re < 22000. Heat transfer and friction factor enhancement of 0.6% volume concentration of Fe₃O₄ nanofluid in a plain tube with twisted tape insert of twist ratio H/D = 5 is 51.88% and 1.231 times compared to water flowing in a plain tube under same Reynolds number. Generalized regression equation is presented for the estimation of Nusselt number and friction factor for both water and Fe₃O₄ nanofluid in a plain tube and with twisted tape inserts under turbulent flow condition.     

Heat transfer enhancement from micro pin fins subjected to an impinging jet

An experimental investigation was carried out to study the single-phase stagnation point jet impingement heat transfer on smooth and micro pin fin structures using water and R134a. The experiments were carried out for a single jet (d_j = 2.0 mm) impinging on a 2 × 2 mm micro-heater over a wide range of Reynolds numbers. Both an unfinned and a micro structured impingement surfaces were investigated. The micro structures consisted of an array of 64 circular micro pin fins fabricated using MEMS microfabrication. The micro pin fins had diameters of 125 μm, heights of 230 μm, and pitches of 250 μm with an area enhancement of A_total/A_base = 2.44. The jet stand-off ratio and area ratio (A_j/A_base) were 0.86 and 0.785, respectively. Nusselt numbers were found to increase with increasing Reynolds numbers. Correlations from the literature for impingement zone Nusselt numbers were found to underpredict the experimental results. Significant enhancement of the heat transfer coefficients were observed as a result of the presence of the micro pin fins on the impingement surface. Enhancement factors as high as 3.03 or about 200% increase in the heat transfer coefficients were demonstrated. Enhancements are attributed to flow mixing, interruption of the boundary layers, and augmentation of turbulent transport.     

Investigation of natural convection induced outer side heat transfer rate of coiled-tube heat exchangers

Natural convection induced heat transfer has been studied over the outer surface of helically coiled-tube heat exchangers. Several different geometrical configurations (curvature ratio δ ε [0.035, 0.082]) and a wide range of flow parameters (60 <= T_tank <= 90, T_in = 19 and 60 <= T_in <= 90, T_tank = 20, 4000 <= Re <= 45000) have been examined to broaden the validity of the results gained from this research. A fluid-to-fluid boundary condition has been applied in the numerical calculations to create the most realistic flow configurations. Validity of the numerical calculations has been tested by experiments available in the open literature. Calculated results of the inner side heat transfer rate have also been compared to existing empirical formulas and experimental results to test the validity of the numerical computation in an independent way from the outer side validation of common helical tube heat exchangers. Water has been chosen to the working fluid inside and outside of the coiled tube (3 < Pr < 7). Outer side heat transfer rate along the helical tube axis has been investigated to get information about the performance of the heat transport process at different location of the helical tube. It was found that the outer side heat transfer rate is slightly dependent on the inner flow rate of any helical tube in case of increasing temperature differences between the tank working fluid temperature and the coil inlet temperature. A stable thermal boundary layer has been found along the axial direction of the tube.In addition to this the qualitative behavior of the peripherally averaged Nusselt number versus the axial location along the helical tube function is strongly dependent on the direction of the heat flow (from the tube to the storage tank and the reversed direction). Inner side heat transfer rate of helical coils have also been investigated in case of fluid-to-fluid boundary conditions and the calculation results have been compared with different prediction formulas published in the last couples of decades.     

ReD-dependence of dynamic thermal conductivities of nanofluids

The dynamic thermal conductivity of nanofluids is examined under fully developed laminar flow conditions (440 < Re_D < 818) in a circular tube (1.753-mm ID) subjected to a uniform heat flux. The experiment has been conducted using nanofluids containing Al₂O₃ nanoparticles of 45-nm nominal diameter dispersed in DI water at two volume concentrations of 2% and 4%. At the small Reynolds numbers, the measured dynamic thermal conductivity is lower by as much as 16% in comparison with the corresponding static thermal conductivity at Re_D = 0. The dynamic thermal conductivity gradually increases with increasing Re_D, but never exceeds the static conductivity level up to the highest tested Reynolds number of 818. The hot wall-to-fluid temperature gradient drives thermophoretic depletion of nanoparticles from the wall to the tube center. The lower dynamic thermal conductivity at the small Reynolds number is believed to be attributed to the reduced effective conduction near the wall where the nanoparticle concentration is relatively lower than in the core of the tube. In contrast, examination of the heat transfer between the suspended nanoparticles and the surrounding water molecules shows that the nanoparticle thermophoretic velocities increase with increasing Reynolds number. The increased thermophoretic velocities inside the nanofluid tend to compensate for the aforementioned reduced thermal conductivity near the wall, and this is conjectured to account for the recovery of the dynamic thermal conductivity to the static level at the higher Reynolds number.     

Effects of duct inclination angle on thermal entrance region of laminar and transition mixed convection

Experimental investigation was performed on the mixed convection heat transfer of thermal entrance region in an inclined rectangular duct for laminar and transition flow. Air flowed upwardly and downwardly with inclination angles from ?90° to 90°. The duct was made of duralumin plate and heated with uniform heat flux axially. The experiment was designed for determining the effects of inclination angles on the heat transfer coefficients and friction factors at seven orientations (θ = ? 90°, ?60°, ?30°, 0°, 30°, 60° and 90°), six Reynolds numbers (Re ≈ 420, 840, 1290, 1720, 2190 and 2630) within the range of Grashof numbers from 6.8 × 10³ to 4.1 × 10⁴. The optimum inclination angles that yielded the maximum heat transfer coefficients decreased from 30° to ?30° with the increase of Reynolds numbers from 420 to 1720. The heat transfer coefficients first increased with inclination angles up to a maximum value and then decreased. With further increase in Reynolds numbers, the heat transfer coefficients were nearly independent of inclination angles. The friction factors decreased with the increase of inclination angles from ?90° to 90° when Reynolds numbers ranged from 420 to 1290, and independent of inclination angles with higher Reynolds numbers.     

Numerical study of transient conjugate heat transfer of a turbulent impinging jet

This study presents the numerical study of transient conjugate heat transfer in a high turbulence air jet impinging over a flat circular disk. The numerical simulation of transient, two-dimensional cylindrical coordinate, turbulent flow and heat transfer is adopted to test the accuracy of the theoretical model. The turbulent governing equations are resolved by the control-volume based finite-difference method with a power-low scheme, and the well-known low-Re κ–ω turbulence model to describe the turbulent structure. The SIMPLE algorithm is adopted to solve the pressure–velocity coupling. The parameters studied include turbulent flow Reynolds number (Re = 16,100–29,600), heated temperature of a circular disk (T_h = 373 K) or heat flux (q″ = 63–189 kW/m²), and orifice to heat-source spacing (H/D = 4–10). The numerical results of the transient impinging process indicate that the jet Reynolds number has a significant effect on the hydrodynamics and heat transfer, particularly in the stagnation region of an impinging jet. High turbulence values lead to greater heat transfer coefficients in the stagnation region and cause a bypass of the laminar-to-turbulent transition region in the wall jet region. Induced turbulence from the environment around the jet also influences the variation of the stagnation heat transfer. The modeling approach used here effectively captures both the stagnation region behavior and the transition to turbulence, thus forming the basis of a reliable turbulence model.     

Turbulent heat transfer and friction factor of Al2O3 Nanofluid in circular tube with twisted tape inserts

The thermophysical properties like thermal conductivity and viscosity of Al₂O₃ nanofluid is determined through experiments at different volume concentrations and temperatures and validated. Convective heat transfer coefficient and friction factor data at various volume concentrations for flow in a plain tube and with twisted tape insert is determined experimentally for Al₂O₃ nanofluid. Experiments are conducted in the Reynolds number range of 10,000–22,000 with tapes of different twist ratios in the range of 0 < H/D < 83. The heat transfer coefficient and friction factor of 0.5% volume concentration of Al₂O₃ nanofluid with twist ratio of five is 33.51% and 1.096 times respectively higher compared to flow of water in a tube. A generalized regression equation is developed for the estimation of Nusselt number and friction factor valid for both water and nanofluid in plain tube and with inserts under turbulent flow conditions.     

Performance assessment in a heat exchanger tube with alternate clockwise and counter-clockwise twisted-tape inserts

The article presents an experimental study of turbulent heat transfer and flow friction characteristics in a circular tube equipped with two types of twisted tapes: (1) typical twisted tapes and (2) alternate clockwise and counterclockwise twisted tapes (C–CC twisted tapes). Nine different C–CC twisted tapes are tested in the current work; they included the tapes with three twist ratios, y/w = 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0, each with three twist angles, θ = 30^o, 60^o and 90^o. The experiments have been performed over a Reynolds number range of 3000–27,000 under uniform heat flux conditions, using water as working fluid. The obtained results reveal that the C–CC twisted-tapes provide higher heat transfer rate, friction factor and heat transfer enhancement index than the typical twisted-tapes at similar operating conditions. The results also show that the heat transfer rate of the C–CC tapes increases with the decrease of twist ratio and the increase of twist angle values. Depending on Reynolds number, twist ratio and twist angle values, the mean Nusselt numbers in the tube fitted with the C–CC twisted tapes are higher than those with the typical ones and the plain tube around 12.8–41.9% and 27.3–90.5%, respectively. The maximum heat transfer enhancement indexes of the C–CC twisted tapes with θ = 90^o for y/w = 3.0, 4.0 and 5.0, are 1.4, 1.34 and 1.3, respectively. In addition, correlations of the Nusselt number and the friction factor for using the C–CC twisted tapes are also determined. Both predicted Nusselt number and friction factor are within ±15% and ±15% deviation compared to the experimental data.     

Effect of flow geometry parameters on transient heat transfer for turbulent flow in a circular tube with baffle inserts

The effect of the flow geometry parameters on transient forced convection heat transfer for turbulent flow in a circular tube with baffle inserts has been investigated. The characteristic parameters of the tubes are pitch to tube inlet diameter ratio H/D = 1, 2 and 3, baffle orientation angle β = 45°, 90° and 180°. Air, Prandtl number of which is 0.71, was used as working fluid, while stainless steel was considered as pipe and baffle material. During the experiments, different geometrical parameters such as the baffle spacing H and the baffle orientation angle β were varied. Totally, nine types of baffle inserted tube were used. The general empirical equations of time averaged Nusselt number and time averaged pressure drop were derived as a function of Reynolds number corresponding to the baffle geometry parameters of pitch to diameter ratio H/D, baffle orientation angle β, ratio of smooth to baffled cross-section area S_o/S_a and ratio of tube length to baffle spacing L/H were derived for transient flow conditions. The proposed empirical correlations were considered to be applicable within the range of Reynolds number 3000 ⩽ Re ⩽ 20,000 for the case of constant heat flux.     

Flow boiling heat transfer characteristics of nitrogen in plain and wire coil inserted tubes

Boiling heat transfer characteristics of nitrogen were experimentally investigated in a stainless steel plain tube and wire coil inserted tubes. Wire coils having different coil pitches and wire thicknesses were inserted into a horizontally positioned plain tube, which had an inner diameter of 10.6 mm and a length of 1.65 m. The coil pitches were 18.4, 27.6, and 36.8 mm, and the wire thicknesses were 1.5, 2.0, and 2.5 mm. Tests were conducted at a saturation temperature of −191 °C, mass fluxes from 58 to 105 kg/m² s, and heat fluxes from 22.5 to 32.7 kW/m². A direct heating method was used to apply heat to the test tube. The boiling heat transfer coefficients of nitrogen significantly decreased when the dryout occurred. Enhancement performance ratio (EPR), which is the ratio of heat transfer enhancement factor to pressure drop ratio, was used to evaluate the performance of the wire coil inserts. The maximum heat transfer enhancement of the wire coil inserted tubes over the plain tube was 174% with wire 3 having a twist ratio (p/D_w) of 1.84 and a thickness ratio (t/D_w) of 0.25. Wire 3-inserted tube showed the highest EPR among the tested tubes in this study.