A parametric study of the novel flow divider-type turbulator on heat transfer enhancement in a circular tube

Abstract

The outcomes of numerical findings on a parametric study of flow divider-type turbulators in forced convection heat transfer mode were presented in this research study. A numerical study has been conducted using air as the working fluid within the Reynolds number range 7000–21000 under uniform wall heat flux boundary conditions. The turbulators were used with a pitch to tube diameter ratio of 0.54, with an alternate angle of twist and the cyclic angle of twist equal to 90°, 45° and, 30°. The CFD simulation outcomes show that the Nusselt number enhances by 2.34–2.40 times, for an alternate angle of twist of 30°. The maximum thermal enhancement efficiency equal to 1.09–1.15 is obtained for turbulators with an alternate angle of twist of 30°. The Nusselt number enhances by 1.67–2.13 times for tubes fitted with a turbulator with the cyclic angle of twist equal to 45°.