EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES ON HEAT TRANSFER AND FRICTION FACTOR CHARACTERISTICS OF TURBULENT FLOW THROUGH A CIRCULAR TUBE FITTED WITH RIGHT AND LEFT HELICAL SCREW-TAPE INSERTS

Experimental investigation on heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of a circular tube fitted with right-left helical screw inserts of equal and unequal length of different twist ratios is presented. The experimental data obtained were compared with those obtained from plain tube published data. The heat transfer enhancement for right-left helical screw inserts is higher than that for straight helical twist for a given twist ratio. The effect of right-left twist length on heat transfer augmentation is presented. The empirical relations for Nusselt number, friction factor relating Reynolds number, twist ratio, and right-left twist distance were formed and found to fit the experimental data within 10% and 20% for Nusselt number and friction factor respectively. Performance evaluation analysis was made, and the performance ratio of more than one was obtained, indicating that the proposed twist inserts can be used effectively for heat transfer augmentation without any loss in pumping power.