Effects of tangential and radial velocity on fluid flow and heat transfer for flow through a pipe with twisted tape insert—laminar flow

Abstract

The present study reports the numerical analysis of fluid flow and heat transfer in a pipe with full length twisted tape insert. The investigation is carried out for five different twist ratios of 4, 5, 6, 8 and 10 at 100 ≤ Re ≤ 1000. The velocity field in terms of streamwise, tangential and radial velocity and temperature field are studied as a function of Reynolds number and twist ratio. The variation of friction factor and Nusselt number with Reynolds number for different twist ratios is also presented. The heat transfer enhancement due to insertion of twisted tape mainly comes from the tangential and radial components of velocities, which are regarded as secondary fluid motion. It is evident from the results that with increase in Reynolds number the axial convection increases. However, with the decrease in the twist ratio, the tangential and radial convection increases, leading to increased heat transfer. The secondary flow affects the thermal boundary layer inside the tube and increases the cross-flow mixing, which increases the heat transfer. The correlations for prediction of friction factor and Nusselt number based on the numerical data are also proposed.