Heat transfer enhancement in a tube using circular cross sectional rings separated from wall

A numerical study was undertaken for investigating the heat transfer enhancement in a tube with the circular cross sectional rings. The rings were inserted near the tube wall. Five different spacings between the rings were considered as p = d/2, p = d, p = 3d/2, p = 2d and p = 3d. Uniform heat flux was applied to the external surface of the tube and air was selected as working fluid. Numerical calculations were performed with FLUENT 6.1.22 code, in the range of Reynolds number 4475–43725. The results obtained from a smooth tube were compared with those from the studies in literature in order to validate the numerical method. Consequently, the variation of Nusselt number, friction factor and overall enhancement ratios for the tube with rings were presented and the best overall enhancement of 18% was achieved for Re = 15,600 for which the spacing between the rings is 3d.