Heat transfer characteristics of a new helically coiled crimped spiral finned tube heat exchanger

In the present study, the heat transfer characteristics in dry surface conditions of a new type of heat exchanger, namely a helically coiled finned tube heat exchanger, is experimentally investigated. The test section, which is a helically coiled fined tube heat exchanger, consists of a shell and a helical coil unit. The helical coil unit consists of four concentric helically coiled tubes of different diameters. Each tube is constructed by bending straight copper tube into a helical coil. Aluminium crimped spiral fins with thickness of 0.5 mm and outer diameter of 28.25 mm are placed around the tube. The edge of fin at the inner diameter is corrugated. Ambient air is used as a working fluid in the shell side while hot water is used for the tube-side. The test runs are done at air mass flow rates ranging between 0.04 and 0.13 kg/s. The water mass flow rates are between 0.2 and 0.4 kg/s. The water temperatures are between 40 and 50°C. The effects of the inlet conditions of both working fluids flowing through the heat exchanger on the heat transfer coefficients are discussed. The air-side heat transfer coefficient presented in term of the Colburn J factor is proportional to inlet-water temperature and water mass flow rate. The heat exchanger effectiveness tends to increase with increasing water mass flow rate and also slightly increases with increasing inlet water temperature.     

Flow through a helically coiled annulus

In this paper the flow is studied of an incompressible viscous fluid through a helically coiled annulus, the torsion of its centre line taken into account. It has been shown that the torsion affects the secondary flow and contributes to the azimuthal component of velocity around the centre line. The symmetry of the secondary flow streamlines in the absence of torsion, is destroyed in its presence. Some stream lines penetrate from the upper half to the lower half, and if is further increased, a complete circulation around the centre line is obtained at low values of for all Reynolds numbers for which the analysis of this paper is valid, being the ratio of the torsion of the centre line to its curvature.Nomenclature A =constant - a outer radius of the annulus - b unit binormal vector to C - C helical centre line of the pipe - D rL - g 1000 - K Dean number=Re² - L 1+r sin - M (L ²+ ² r ²)^1/2 - n unit normal vector to C - P, P pressure and nondimensional pressure - p ₀, p pressures of O(1) and O() - Re Reynolds number=aW ₀/ - (r, , s), (r, , s) coordinates and nondimensional coordinates - nonorthogonal unit vectors along the coordinate directions - r ₀ radius of the projection of C - t unit tangent vector to C - V _r, V , V _s velocity components along the nonorthogonal directions - V_r, V, V _s nondimensional velocity components along - W ₀ average velocity in a straight annulus Greek symbols , curvature and nondimensional curvature of C - U, V, W lowest order terms for small in the velocity components along the orthogonal directions t - _r, , _s first approximations to V _r , V, V _s for small - =/=/ - kinematic viscosity - density of the fluid - , torsion and nondimensional torsion of C - , stream function and nondimensional stream function - nondimensional streamfunction for U, V - a inner radius of the annulus After this paper was accepted for publication, a paper entitled On the low-Reynolds number flow in a helical pipe, by C.Y. Wang, has appeared in J. Fluid. Mech., Vol 108, 1981, pp. 185–194. The results in Wangs paper are particular cases of this paper for =0, and are also contained in [9].     

Numerical estimation of mixed convection heat transfer in vertical helically coiled tube heat exchangers

A numerical investigation of the mixed convection heat transfer from vertical helically coiled tubes in a cylindrical shell at various Reynolds and Rayleigh numbers, various coil‐to‐tube diameter ratios and non‐dimensional coil pitches was carried out. The particular difference in this study compared with other similar studies is the boundary conditions for the helical coil. Most studies focus on constant wall temperature or constant heat flux, whereas in this study it was a fluid‐to‐fluid heat exchanger. The purpose of this article is to assess the influence of the tube diameter, coil pitch and shell‐side mass flow rate on shell‐side heat transfer coefficient of the heat exchanger. Different characteristic lengths were used in the Nusselt number calculations to determine which length best fits the data and finally it has been shown that the normalized length of the shell‐side of the heat exchanger reasonably demonstrates the desired relation. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experimental and numerical study on unsteady natural convection heat transfer in helically coiled tube heat exchangers

Both of experimental and numerical investigations were performed to understand unsteady natural convection from outer surface of helical coils. Four helical coils with two different curvature ratios were used. Each coil was mounted in the shell both vertically and horizontally. The cold water was entered the coil and the hot water in the shell was cooling by unsteady natural convection. A CFD code was developed to simulate natural convection heat transfer. Equations of tube and shell are solved simultaneously. Statistical analyses have been done on data points of temperature and natural convection Nusselt number. It was revealed that shell-side fluid temperature and the Nusselt number of the outer surface of coils are functions of in-tube fluid mass flow rate, specific heat of fluids and geometrical parameters including length, inner diameter of the tube and the volume of the shell, and time.     

Heat transfer simulation in a helically coiled tube steam generator

A symmetric helically coiled tube steam generator that operates by methane has been simulated analytically and numerically. In the analytical method, the furnace has been divided into five zones. The numerical method computes the total heat absorbed in the furnace, while the existing analytical methods compute only the radiation heat transfer. In addition, according to the numerical results, a correlation is proposed for the Nusselt number in the furnace.     

Heat transfer characteristics of water and APG surfactant solution in a micro-channel heat sink

The steady increase in internal heat production of cost and high performance electronic components has lead researchers to seek improved ways to remove the heat generated. Single-phase liquid flow has been considered as a potential solution for solving this cooling problem. However, when considering that any solution needs to be of low cost and low mass fluxes and yet retain low temperature gradients across the electronic components, it seems that two-phase boiling flow is preferred. Surfactant solutions have been introduced in connection with enhancement of the boiling processes. We investigated the effects of surfactant solution flows through a micro-channel heat sink. The experimental setup included a high-speed IR radiometer and a CCD camera that were used to characterize the test module. The module consisted of inlet and outlet manifolds that distributed surfactant solutions through an array of 26 parallel micro-channels. The experimental results have shown that there exists an optimal solution concentration and mass flux for enhancing heat removal. Surfactant solution boiling flows were also found to stabilize the maximum and average surface temperatures for a wide range of applied heat fluxes. In addition, the use of surfactant solutions at low mass fluxes has led to CHF enhancement when compared to regular water flows. In the last part of this work, possible explanations for the observed non-ionic surfactant effects are presented.     

Two phase flow and heat transfer characteristics of a separate-type heat pipe

Two phase flow and heat transfer characteristics of a separate-type heat pipe have been studied experimentally and theoretically. The experimental apparatus have the same geometry for the evaporator and the condenser which consist of 5-tube-banks, with working temperature ranges of 80–125°C. The experimental working fluid is dual-distilled water with corrosion-resistant agents. Heat transfer coefficients for boiling and condensation along with heat flux and working temperature are measured at different filling ratio. According to the results of the experiments, the optimized filling ratio ranges from 16 to 36%. Fitted correlations of average heat transfer coefficients of the evaporator and Nusselt numbers of the condenser at the proposed filling ratio are obtained. Two phase flow characteristics of the evaporator and the condenser as well as their influence on heat transfer are described on the basis of simplified analysis. Reasons for the pulse-boiling process remain to be studied.     

Turbulence measurements of drag reducing surfactant systems

LDA measurements were made of mean velocity and of turbulence intensity in a 39.4mm diameter tube, the first measurements in three directions on drag reducing surfactant solutions (0.05% and 0.1% Habon G). Drag reduction exceeded the predictions of the Virk maximum drag reduction asymptote and elastic sublayer mean velocity profiles are steeper than the profile proposed by Virk for maximum drag reducing asymptote solutions. Axial turbulence intensities for Habon G solutions are higher than those for water near the wall, lower in most of the outer region and about the same at the center. Tangential and radial turbulence intensities are lower than those for water.     

Residence time distribution in twisted pipe flows: helically coiled system and chaotic system

 This study compares residence time distributions in a helically coiled tube and a spatially chaotic system. The chaotic system consists of an array of bends, the plane of curvature of each one makes a 90° angle with that of its neighbors. Chaotic trajectories are obtained by the switch in the symmetry plane of the Dean vortices which appear in the bends. Mixing in the two configurations is compared by modeling the residence time distributions, experimentally determined by means of a two-measurement-point technique, using the axial dispersion plug-flow model. For Reynolds numbers greater than 2500, axial dispersion in the chaotic system is more than 20% less than in a helically coiled tube having the same number of bends. The decrease in axial dispersion is due to the generation of chaotic trajectories, which also contribute to an increase in transverse dispersion. Thus, the chaotic curved pipes system appears very promising in producing good mixing, especially in a laminar flow regime. Received: 4 June 1996 / Accepted: 23 October 1996     

Air-water two-phase flow in a helically coiled tube

Air-water flow has been studied in a helically coiled tube. The flow pattern transition between stratified and annular flow was examined, and a series of measurements were then taken in the annular flow regime. Local values of the liquid film thickness and liquid film flowrate around the tube periphery were obtained. The variations of these values around the periphery was similar. For most of the cases studied the liquid film flow rate was greatest on the inside of tbe bend, but in some results a subsidiary peak at the outside position was also obtained. There was little net entrained flow because of the centrifugal forces tending to deposit drops very quickly. Attempts to use correlations developed in vertical annular flow at a local position on the tube periphery were not very successful.     

Numerical solutions of pulsating flow and heat transfer characteristics in a pipe

Numerical studies are made of flow and heat transfer characteristics of a pulsating flow in a pipe. Complete time-dependent laminar boundary-layer equations are solved numerically over broad ranges of the parameter spaces, i.e., the frequency parameter β and the amplitude of oscillation A. Recently developed numerical solution procedures for unsteady boundary-layer equations are utilized. The capabilities of the present numerical model are satisfactorily tested by comparing the instantaenous axial velocities with the existing data in various parameters. The time-mean axial velocity profiles are substantially unaffected by the changes in β and A. For high frequencies, the prominent effect of pulsations is felt principally in a thin layer near the solid wall. Skin friction is generally greateer than that of a steady flow. The influence of oscillation on skin friction is appreciable both in terms of magnitude and phase relation. Numerical results for temperature are analyzed to reveal significant heat transfer characteristics. In the downstream fully established region, the Nusselt number either increases or decreases over the steady-flow value, depending on the frequency parameter, although the deviations from the steady values are rather small in magnitude for the parameter ranges computed. The Nusselt number trend is amplified as A increases and when the Prandtl number is low below unity. These heat transfer characteristics are qualitatively consistent with previous theoretical predictions.     

Turbulent heat transfer characteristics of water flow in a rotating pipe

Large-Eddy-Simulation of turbulent heat transfer for water flow in rotating pipe is performed, for various rotation ratios (0 ≤ N ≤ 14). The value of the Reynolds number, based on the bulk velocity and pipe diameter, is Re = 5,500. The aim of this study is to examine the effect of the rotating pipe on the turbulent heat transfer for water flow, as well as the reliability of the LES approach for predicting turbulent heat transfer in water flow. Some predictions for the case of non-rotating pipe are compared to the available results of literature for validation. To depict the influence of the rotation ratio on turbulent heat transfer, many statistical quantities are analyzed (distributions of mean temperature, rms of fluctuating temperature, turbulent heat fluxes, higher-order statistics). Some contours of instantaneous temperature fluctuations are examined.     

Flow and heat transfer in a pipe with a fin attached to inner wall

Enhancement of heat transfer to the fluid can be done by turbulence promoters such as attached fins to the pipe walls. In this study, the flow field and the heat transfer rates were numerically investigated in a pipe with an internally attached fin. Numerical simulations were conducted for four different types of fluids and for different fin heights and locations, and as the Reynolds number was varied, the effects of the fin on Nusselt number and friction factors were investigated. For all the Reynolds numbers considered in this study, the effect of fin location on the heat transfer rate and friction factor was negligible. As the fin height was increased, the mean Nusselt number and the friction factor also increased in the turbulent flow regimes. For low Prandtl number fluids (Pr = 0.011), the main heat transfer mode is conduction, and hence the mean Nusselt number slightly affected the flow rates.     

Flow resistance and heat transfer characteristics in micro-cylinders-group

De-ionized water flows through in-line and staggered arrays micro-cylinders-group plates with different distances among micro-cylinders, and the resistance characteristic and the Nusselt numbers of micro plates are experimentally obtained. The investigations show that the distances among cylinders (S values) have slight influence on flow resistance and the experimental Nusselt number and they are far less than predictions of classical correlations at extremely low Reynolds number due to the appearance of the sluggish regions in micro cylinders-group plate. With the increase of Reynolds number, the influence of the S values on flow resistance becomes more apparent and the flow resistance and the experimental Nusselt number of micro-cylinders-group rapidly increases due to the decrease of sluggish regions in the micro-cylinders-group plate and the weakness of the variation of the thermophysical properties with temperature and the endwall effects.     

Flow visualization and LDV measurement of fully developed laminar flow in helically coiled tubes

Secondary flow structure in helically coiled tubes is characterized by laser light-sheet flow visualization photographs and laser Doppler velocimetry measured velocity vector field. The torsion-to-curvature ratio and Reynolds number, based on the tube diameter and bulk average axial velocity, were varied from 0.06 to 5.55 and from 35 to 330, respectively, to study their effects on the secondary flow patterns. Good agreement was found between the results obtained in the present work and those predicted previously. That the dominance of the torsion effect on the secondary flow is not limited to low Reynolds numbers as reported previously is pointed out. Moreover, the transformation of two recirculating cells into one cell is documented in detail.     

Aspects of coiled tube heat transfer

Enhancement of heat transfer performance, beyond that normally achieved in curved tube flows, is demonstrated for pulsatile flows and for developing flows. In the former, increases of greater than 20% are obtained and in the latter, a maximum increase of 60% is obtained.

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Wärmeübergang in gewendelten Rohren

Zusammenfassung Es wird gezeigt, daß der Wärmeaustausch in gebogenen Rohren gegenüber herkömmlichen Strömungen vergrößert werden kann. Für pulsierende Strömungen werden Steigungen von mehr als 20%, für Einlaufströmungen von maximal 60% beobachtet.

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Nomenclature a Pipe radius - De Dean number= - K Pressure amplitude ratio - Nu Nusselt number - Pr Prandtl number - R Coil radius - Re Reynolds number - T Dimensionless temperature - Z Dimensionless axial length - Dimensionless frequency= - _m Mean boundary layer thickness - Excitation frequency - Kinematic viscosity - Dimensionless wave-length Dedicated to Professor E. R. G. Eckert on the occasion of his 80th birthday     

Boiling heat transfer characteristics of nanofluids in a flat heat pipe evaporator with micro-grooved heating surface

An experimental study was performed to understand the nucleate boiling heat transfer of water–CuO nanoparticles suspension (nanofluids) at different operating pressures and different nanoparticle mass concentrations. The experimental apparatus is a miniature flat heat pipe (MFHP) with micro-grooved heat transfer surface of its evaporator. The experimental results indicate that the operating pressure has great influence on the nucleate boiling characteristics in the MFHP evaporator. The heat transfer coefficient and the critical heat flux (CHF) of nanofluids increase greatly with decreasing pressure as compared with those of water. The heat transfer coefficient and the CHF of nanofluids can increase about 25% and 50%, respectively, at atmospheric pressure whereas about 100% and 150%, respectively, at the pressure of 7.4 kPa. Nanoparticle mass concentration also has significant influence on the boiling heat transfer and the CHF of nanofluids. The heat transfer coefficient and the CHF increase slowly with the increase of the nanoparticle mass concentration at low concentration conditions. However, when the nanoparticle mass concentration is over 1.0 wt%, the CHF enhancement is close to a constant number and the heat transfer coefficient deteriorates. There exists an optimum mass concentration for nanofluids which corresponds to the maximum heat transfer enhancement and this optimum mass concentration is 1.0 wt% at all test pressures. The experiment confirmed that the boiling heat transfer characteristics of the MFHP evaporator can evidently be strengthened by using water/CuO nanofluids.