Flow felid and heat transfer enhancement investigations by using a combination of corrugated tubes with a twisted tape within 3D circular tube based on different dimple configurations

Different dimple geometrical configurations with a combination of corrugated tubes and twisted tape are numerically investigated. Water is used as a working fluid for constant heat flux heat transfer conditions at the pipe wall. The dimensionless diameter of the dimples (d/D) used in this study is 0.09, 0.18, 0.27, and 0.36. However, the corrugation configuration diameter is 1 mm. The numerical simulations are carried out at the Reynolds number in the range of 1500–14,000. The outcomes reveal that the friction factor (f) and Nu number are augmented as the dimple diameter increases. The Nu number ratio of 1.25 is found for a dimple pipe tube with a diameter of 4 mm. The numerical outcome presented more mixing, secondary, and vortex produced in the main flow direction and near the pipe wall to the rotating flow induced by twisted tape. Moreover, mixed, secondary vortices and rotational flow originate behind and near the dimple, twisted tape, and corrugation surfaces. These rotational and vortices can promote mixing in flow between the thermal boundary layer and velocity boundary flow layer. So, increase the heat transfer enhancement. The improved pipes with different dimple diameters produce a maximum performance evaluation factor of is more than 1.25.     

Compound heat transfer enhancement of a dimpled tube with a twisted tape swirl generator

Friction and compound heat transfer behaviors in a dimpled tube fitted with a twisted tape swirl generator are investigated experimentally using air as working fluid. The effects of the pitch and twist ratio on the average heat transfer coefficient and the pressure loss are determined in a circular tube with the fully developed flow for the Reynolds number in the range of 12,000 to 44,000. The experiments are performed using two dimpled tubes with different pitch ratios of dimpled surfaces (PR = 0.7 and 1.0) and three twisted tapes with three different twist ratios (y/w = 3, 5, and 7). Experiments using plain tube and dimpled tube acting alone are also carried out for comparison. The experimental results reveal that both heat transfer coefficient and friction factor in the dimpled tube fitted with the twisted tape, are higher than those in the dimple tube acting alone and plain tube. It is also found that the heat transfer coefficient and friction factor in the combined devices increase as the pitch ratio (PR) and twist ratio (y/w) decrease. In addition, an empirical correlation based on the experimental results of the present study is sufficiently accurate for prediction the heat transfer (Nu) and friction factor (f) behaviors.     

球突翅片的传热流动特性及等效热阻数值分析

为了提高翅片管换热器的传热系数和减小压降,提出了一种球突型翅片,通过数值模拟研究其传热与流动性能,同时应用(火积)耗散理论对其传热的不可逆性进行分析。计算结果表明:与平片相比,其传热能提高26.21%～39.53%,而阻力系数仅提高16.62%～27.04%,同时综合性能增加16.54%～32.56%;这说明该翅片具有高传热系数低压降的特点,是一种性能优良的翅片。通过(火积)耗散分析可以看出:球突翅片的等效热阻减小,其传热的不可逆性减弱。     

Investigation of thermal flow structure and performance heat transfer in three-dimensional circular pipe using twisted tape based on Taguchi method analysis

In the current investigation, the twisted tape inserts are considered as the augmentation thermal technique, the influence of a variety of twisted tape configurations on pressure drop characteristics, temperature differences, thermal performance of fluid flow structure, heat transfer improvement, and friction factor are numerically evaluated. The changed geometrical parameters employed for this study comprise twisted tape width, twisted tape thickness, number of turns, and inward thickness are the input parameters. Design of experiments method is applied to analyze the influence of latter various types of geometrical parameters on hydraulic thermofluid pattern and heat transfer improvement in the twisted tube heat exchanger as the output variables. For the experimental design optimization Taguchi analysis is based on investigate of alterations and performs the orthogonal arrays (OA). Moreover, the OA L16 is chosen as the plan of experimental study. It is found the best design of twisted tape in this study by using computational fluid dynamics numerical methodology complained with Taguchi method the enhancement in heat transfer and hence the overall performance evaluation factor is higher than 1.2.     

Studies on heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of thermosyphon solar water heating system with helical twisted tapes

Experimental investigation of heat transfer, friction factor and thermal performance of thermosyphon solar water heater system fitted with helical twisted tape of various twist ratios has been performed and presented. The helical twisted tape induces swirl flow inside the riser tubes, which increases the heat transfer and pressure drop. The empirical correlations developed for Nusselt number and friction factor with various twist ratios (Y = 3, 4, 5, 6) are fitted with the experimental data with a discrepancy of less than ±4.54% and ±6.13% respectively. The results are compared with a plain tube collector at the same operating conditions. Conclusions made from the results show that heat transfer enhancement in twisted tape collector is higher than the plain tube collector with minimum twist ratio and gradually decreases with increase in twist ratio. The overall thermal performance of twisted tape collector is found to increase with increase in solar intensity.     

Study the influence of concavity shapes on augmentation of heat-transfer performance,pressure field,and fluid pattern in three-dimensional pipe

In this current study, the heat-transfer augmentation mechanism and pressure drop with flow field structures over different dimple arrays in turbulent flow of three-dimensional circular tube are investigated based on computational fluid dynamics numerical methods using the standard k − e turbulent model. The water is the working fluid over the range of Reynolds numbers from 1500 to 24,000, with three different tubes dimpling arrangements are analyzed. The numerical simulation results are validated through available experimental data, and they show good agreement results between them. The numerical analysis results showed that the flow fields are symmetric within the middle cross-sectional direction in the pipe with and without dimples. Also, the flow near or close to the dimples is chaotic and including small vortexes and eddies. The results found that the temperature difference in the dimple tube with 2 mm diameter at low flow range 0.56 L/min was higher than that of smooth pipe, dimple tube 0.75 and 1.5 mm by 26.8%, 10.57%, and 3.68%, respectively. It can be concluded that using dimples in heat-exchanger tubes can provide rates of heat transfer that is higher than that without dimpled tubes at the same operating conditions. Hence, this is an important enhancement in process industries for the energy conversion applications.     

Experimental studies on heat transfer and thermal performance characteristics of thermosyphon solar water heating system with helical and Left–Right twisted tapes

Experimental investigation of heat transfer, friction factor and thermal performance of thermosyphon solar water heater system fitted with helical and Left–Right twist of twist ratio 3 has been performed and presented. The helical twisted tape induces swirl flow inside the riser tubes unidirectional over the length. But, in Left–Right system the swirl flow is bidirectional which increases the heat transfer and pressure drop when compared to the helical system. The experimental heat transfer and friction factors characteristics are validated with theoretical equations and the deviation falls with in the acceptable limits. The results show that heat transfer enhancement in twisted tape collector is higher than the plain tube collector. Compared to helical and Left–Right twisted tape system of same twist ratio 3, maximum thermal performance is obtained for Left–Right twisted tape collector with increase in solar intensity.     

A numerical study to investigate the effect of turbulators on thermal flow and heat performance of a 3D pipe

To reduce the heat exchanger's costs in a highly competitive industry, thermal performance enhancement of the heat exchangers has successfully gained attention in the last few decades. Among different engineering approaches, the application of the enhanced pipes provides a key solution to improve heat performance. In this paper, the investigation develops a numerical study based on the commercially available computational fluid dynamics codes on the turbulent flow in three-dimensional tubular pipes. Various concavity (dimple) diameters with corrugation and twisted tape configurations are investigated. The study has shown that perforated geometrical parameters lead to a high fluid mixing and flow perturbation between the pipe core region and the walls, hence better thermal efficiency. Moreover, a model of concavity (dimple) with a 4 mm diameter allows the highest heat transfer enhancement among other designs. In addition, the study shows that due to the disturbance between the pipe core region and the pipe wall, the transverse vortices and swirl flow generated are forceful, which leads to better heat transfer enhancement compared with the conventional (smooth) pipes. As the Reynolds number (Re) rises, the mixing flow, secondary, and separation flow extend to become higher than the values in a smooth pipe, allowing a higher value of performance evaluation factor to be achieved for a dimple diameter of 1mm at the low Re values. This study, therefore, shows the promising potential of the enhanced pipes in the heat transfer enhancement of heat exchangers that is crucial in industrial applications to save more energy.     

Heat transfer and pressure drop in the horizontal double pipes with and without twisted tape insert

The heat transfer characteristics and the pressure drop in the horizontal double pipes with twisted tape insert are investigated. Two test sections with different relative pitches are tested. The inner and outer diameters of the inner tube are 8.10 and 9.54 mm, respectively. The twisted tape is made from the aluminium strip with thickness of 1 mm and the length of 2000 mm. Cold and hot water are used as working fluids in shell side and tube side, respectively. The test runs are done at the cold and hot water mass flow rates ranging between 0.01 and 0.07 kg/s, and between 0.04 and 0.08 kg/s, respectively. The inlet cold and hot water temperatures are between 15 and 20 °C, and between 40 and 45 °C, respectively. The results obtained from the tube with twisted insert are compared with those without twisted tape. Non-isothermal correlations based on the data gathered during this work for predicting the heat transfer coefficient and friction factor of the horizontal pipe with twisted taped insert are proposed. The majority of the data falls within ± 15%, ± 10% of the proposed correlations for heat transfer coefficient and friction factor, respectively.     

Effect of outline curvature degree on heat transfer and flow characteristics inside dimpled tubes and spirally grooved tubes

The flow behaviors and heat transfer characteristics have been studied inside the dimpled tubes and spirally grooved tubes with different curvature degrees, which is considered for the first time within the influence factors. A three-dimensional numerical simulation by periodic boundary conditions is performed to model the fully developed flow of dimpled and grooved sections to acquire the finer mesh and more accurate results. In addition, the dimple and groove outlines with different curvature degrees are generated by polynomial functions. Effects of curvature degrees for dimpled tubes and spirally grooved tubes on flow, heat transfer, and comprehensive performances are discussed. The results indicate that the influence of curvature degrees for dimpled tubes exhibit an opposite behavior when compared with those for spirally grooved tubes. On the whole, all performance factors increase with the growing curvature degree for dimpled tubes but decrease with the increasing curvature degree for spirally grooved tubes. By comparing different curvature degrees, the maximum ranges of heat transfer enhancement are 1.50–2.22 and 2.54–2.82, respectively, for dimpled and grooved tubes with respect to Re. Thermal and hydraulic fields are considered to analyze the mechanism of heat transfer enhancement. The analysis shows that the way the dimple changes thermohydraulic properties differs from the way the groove changes the properties.     

Experimental studies on heat transfer and friction factor characteristics of forced circulation solar water heater system fitted with helical twisted tapes

Experimental investigation of heat transfer, friction factor and thermal performance of twisted tape solar water heater with various twist ratios has been conducted and the results are compared with plain tube collector for the same operating conditions with Reynolds number varied from 3000 to 23,000. Experimental data from plain tube collector is validated with the fundamental equations and found that the discrepancy is less than ±5.35% and ±8.80% for Nusselt number and friction factor, respectively. Correlations have been developed for Nusselt number and friction factor with various twist ratios (Y = 3, 4, 5, 6) and are compared with the experimental values. Results conclude that, heat transfer and pressure drop are higher in twisted tape collector compared to the plain one. Among the various twist ratios, the minimum twist ratio 3 is found to enhance the heat transfer and pressure drop due to swirl generation. As the twist ratio increases, the swirl generation decreases and minimizes the heat transfer and friction factor.     

Estimation of heat transfer coefficient and friction factor in the transition flow with low volume concentration of Al2O3 nanofluid flowing in a circular tube and with twisted tape insert

Experiments to evaluate heat transfer coefficient and friction factor for flow in a tube and with twisted tape inserts in the transition range of flow with Al₂O₃ nanofluid are conducted. The results showed considerable enhancement of convective heat transfer with Al₂O₃ nanofluids compared to flow with water. It is observed that the equation of Gleninski applicable in transitional flow range for single-phase fluids showed considerable deviation when compared with values obtained with nanofluid. The heat transfer coefficient of nanofluid flowing in a tube with 0.1% volume concentration is 23.7% higher when compared with water at number of 9000. Heat transfer coefficient and pressure drop with nanofluid has been experimentally determined with tapes of different twist ratios and found to deviate with values obtained from equations developed for single-phase flow. A regression equation is developed to estimate the Nusselt number valid for both water and nanofluid flowing in the transition flow Reynolds number range in circular plain tube and with tape inserts. The maximum friction factor with twisted tape at 0.1% nanofluid volume concentration is 1.21 times that of water flowing in a plain tube.     

3-D Numerical simulation of swirling flow and convective heat transfer in a circular tube induced by means of loose-fit twisted tapes

The article presents the application of a mathematical model for simulation of the swirling flow in a tube induced by loose-fit twisted tape insertion. Effects of the clearance ratio defined as ratio of clearance between the edge of tape and tube wall to tube diameter (CR = c/D = 0.0 (tight-fit), 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3) on heat transfer enhancement (Nu), friction factor (f) and thermal performance factor (η) are numerically investigated for twisted tapes at two different twist ratios (y/w = 2.5 and 5.0). The simulation is conducted in order to gain an understanding of physical behavior of the thermal and fluid flow in the tube fitted with loose-fit twisted tape under constant wall temperature conditions in the turbulent flow regime for the Reynolds number ranging from 3000 to 10,000. The Navier–Stokes equation in common with a energy equation is solved using the SIMPLE technique with the standard k–ε turbulence model, the Renormalized Group (RNG) k–ε turbulence model, the standard k–ω turbulence model, and Shear Stress Transport (SST) k–ω turbulence model. The numerical results show that the predictions of heat transfer (Nu) and friction factor (f) based on the SST k–ω turbulence models are in better agreement with Manglik and Bergles [R.M. Manglik, A.E. Bergles, Heat transfer and pressure drop correlations for twisted-tape inserts in isothermal tubes, part II: Transition and turbulent flows, Transaction ASME, Journal of Heat Transfer, 115 (1993) 890–896.] than other turbulence models. The mean flow patterns in a tube with loose-fit twisted tapes in terms of contour plots of velocity, pathline, pressure, temperature and turbulent kinetics energy (TKE) are presented and compared with those in a tube fitted with tight-fit twisted tapes. It is visible that the twisted tape inserts for y/w = 2.5 with CR = 0.0 (tight-fit), 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 can enhance heat transfer rates up to 73.6%, 46.6%, 17.5% and 20%, respectively and increase friction factors up to 330%, 262%, 189%, and 160%, respectively, in comparison with those of the plain tube. The tube with loose-fit twisted tape inserts with CR = 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 provide heat transfer enhancement around 15.6%, 33.3% and 31.6% lower than those with CR = 0.0 (the tight-fit twisted tape). The heat transfer augmentation is expected to involve the swirl flow formation between the tape and a tube wall. In addition, the simulation for thermal performance factor (η) of a tube with the loose-fit twisted tape and the tight-fit twisted tape under the same pumping power is also conducted, for comparison.     

Numerical study on characteristics of flow and heat transfer in a cooling passage with protrusion-in-dimple surface

The detailed flow structure and heat transfer characteristics in a newly designed heat transfer surface geometry were investigated. The surface geometry proposed is the combination of a conventional dimple cavity with a protrusion structure mounted within it. The underlying design concept of this surface geometry aims to enhance the flow mixing and the corresponding heat transfer in the flow-recirculating region that is generated by a conventional dimple cavity. Four different protrusion heights were considered as the main design parameter of the present study. The numerical simulations were carried out with a Reynolds number of 2800 and Prandtl number of 0.71 (air) corresponding to the mean velocity and channel height. The calculated pressure drop and heat-transfer capacity were assessed in terms of the Fanning friction factor and Colburn j factor. The overall performances, estimated in terms of area goodness factor for several protrusion-in-dimple cases, were higher than that found by a conventional dimple. Compared to the conventional dimple case, the pressure drop and heat-transfer capacity were slightly augmented in the case of a protrusion height of 0.05 since this leads to an improvement in the mixing of the turbulent flow in the dimple cavity.     

Experimental study of mixed convection and pressure drop in helically dimpled tubes for laminar and transition flow

This paper presents the experimental results carried out in dimpled tubes for laminar and transition flows and completes a previous work of the authors focused on the turbulent region. It was observed that laminar flow heat transfer through horizontal dimpled tubes is produced in mixed convection, where Nusselt number depends on both the natural convection and the entry region. Employing water and ethylene glycol as test fluids, the following flow range was covered: x^*=10⁻⁴–10⁻² and Ra=10⁶–10⁸.

The experimental results of isothermal pressure drop for laminar flow showed dimpled tube friction factors between 10% and 30% higher than the smooth tube ones. Moreover, it was perceived that roughness accelerates transition to critical Reynolds numbers down to 1400. Correlations for the laminar friction factor f=f(Re,h/d) and for the critical Reynolds Re_crit=Re_crit(h/d) are proposed. The hydraulic behaviour of dimpled tubes was found to depend mainly on dimple height.

In mixed convection, high temperature differences in the cross section were measured and therefore heat transfer was evaluated by a circumferentially averaged Nusselt number. Experimenal correlations for the local and the fully developed Nusselt numbers and are given. Results showed that at low Rayleigh numbers, heat transfer is similar to the smooth tube one whereas at high Rayleigh, enhancement produced by dimpled tubes can be up to 30%.     

Effect of Twin Delta-Winged Twisted-Tape on Thermal Performance of Heat Exchanger Tube

This work aims at studying the effect of twin delta-winged twisted-tape insertion on heat transfer, pressure drop, and thermal performance characteristics of a heat exchanger tube. All twisted tapes used in this work were made of aluminum sheets twisted at a single twist ratio of 3.0. The twin delta wings were formed by extrusion of the tape at the center area at every twist length interval. For comparison, three different arrangements of the twin delta wings were: (1) the wing tips pointing upstream of the flow (TTW-up, twin delta-winged twisted tape in counterflow arrangement), (2) the wing tips pointing downstream of the flow (TTW-down, twin delta-winged twisted tape in co-flow arrangement), and (3) the wing tips pointing opposite direction (TTW-o, opposite winged twisted tape). The wing declination was arranged at an angle of 15° with respect to the tape surface. Effects of three different wing-tip angles of 20°, 40°, and 60° for a constant wing base were examined. The experiments were conducted using water as the test fluid in a uniform-heat-flux tube for Reynolds number between 5000 and 15,000. The results demonstrate that the TTW-up consistently provides greater heat transfer rate, friction factor, and thermal performance factor than the TTW-down and the TTW-o, at a similar condition. In addition, the heat transfer rate increases as the wing-tip angle decreases. Over the range investigated, the TTW-up with wing-tip angle of 20° gives the highest thermal performance factor of 1.26 along with a Nusselt number and friction factor of 2.57 and 8.55 times those of the plain tube.     

Friction and heat transfer characteristics of flow through square duct with twisted tape insert

This paper presents numerical prediction of characteristics of laminar, as well as, turbulent flow and heat transfer in a square sectioned duct inserted with a twisted tape, whose width equals the length of the duct side. The heat transfer characteristics are predicted under axially and peripherally constant wall heat flux conditions. As such, the flow and heat transfer are periodically fully developed in axial direction. Correlations for friction factor and Nusselt number are derived from the predicted data. The correlation for friction is compared with the experimental data, which are found to be in reasonably good agreement with each other, for both laminar and turbulent flows.     

Experimental investigation of heat transfer and flow friction in a circular tube fitted with regularly spaced twisted tape elements

Experimental investigation of heat transfer and friction factor characteristics in a double pipe heat exchanger fitted with regularly spaced twisted tape elements, were studied. The inner and outer diameters of the inner tube are 50.6 and 25.8 mm, respectively and cold and hot water were used as working fluids in shell side and tube side. The twisted tapes were made of the stainless steel strip with thickness of 1 mm and the length of 1500 mm. They were inserted in the test tube section in two different cases: (1) full-length typical twisted tape at different twisted ratios (y = 6.0 and 8.0), and (2) twisted tape with various free space ratios (S = 1.0, 2.0, and 3.0). The results, obtained from the tube with twisted tape insert, were compared with those without twisted tape. The results show that the heat transfer coefficient increased with twist ratio (y). Whereas the increase in the free space ratio (S) would improve both the heat transfer coefficient and friction factor. The results from each case were correlated for Nusselt number and friction factor. Subsequently, the predicted Nusselt number and friction factor from the correlations were plotted to compare with the experimental data. It was found that Nusselt number was within ± 15% and ± 10% for friction factor.     

Characterization of internal thermohydraulic flow and heat transfer improvement in a three-dimensional circular corrugated tube surfaces based on numerical simulation and design of experiment

To meet the requirements of development in heat exchangers design, the effect of different tubes geometrical parameters on its flow field analysis and thermal heat transfer performance are investigated in the current research work. The hydraulic thermal fluid coupling with computational simulations is applied. The numerical results are solving used flow transport and heat transfer equations, then these results are validated with available experimental data. The behavior of hydraulic and thermal flow in the corrugated tube is discussed with different geometrical parameters' position and shape. Turbulent flow in the tube is calculated in three-dimensional numerical simulations with optimization of a multiobjective algorithm are analyzed. The influences of various design parameters, for instance, the number of corrugated rings around the tube, distance between each corrugated ring, the diameter of the ring, and pitch of ring are investigated firstly in the flow field and then optimized by using the design of experiment (DOE). The influence of flow structural modifications such as static pressure, dynamic pressure, and pressure drop is taken into consideration as analyzed performance parameters. The DOE method is investigated based on implements and variances the L16 orthogonal arrays are chosen as the experimental strategy. Furthermore, the optimization results found that the maximum value of pressure difference was for corrugated diameter. The numerical method using DOE has enhanced heat transfer rate as compared to the smooth pipe. Moreover, the minimum T_out is for Case 11 (296.49°C) and the maximum T_out is for (303.10°C) hence the value of Nu number for both cases is 32.9 and 42, respectively. That means using this type of passive device can improve the heat transfer in the pipe. The outcomes illustrate that the performance evaluation factor (PEF) ratio of the corrugated pipe with different geometrical configurations is changed and increased as the corrugated pipe geometrically changed and the value of PEF is more than 1.3.     

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.