Experimental study of heat transfer enhancement in a concentric double pipe heat exchanger with different axial pitch ratio of perforated twisted tape inserts

Abstract

In this study, an experimental investigation has been carried out for heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of a concentric double pipe heat exchanger using the perforated twisted (PT) tape inserts with various axial pitch ratios. The experiments were performed using PT tape inserts with tape-twist ratio of 3.97 and the three axial pitch ratio (Sx/W = 0.56, 0.87 and 1.19) and constant the perforation hole diameter ratio (d/W = 0.16). In the experiments, hot water and cold water flowed through the inner pipe and annulus, respectively. The experiments were performed for counter current flow mode of the fluids in a turbulent flow regime with Reynolds number ranging from 5400 to 17,500. A tube with typical twisted (TT) tape insert and a plain tube were also tested for comparison. The experimental results revealed that both heat transfer rate and friction factor of the heat exchanger equipped with PT tape inserts were significantly higher than those of the plain tube and with TT tape insert. The results showed that the Nusselt number increased with decreasing Sx/W. PT tape inserts with Sx/W = 0.56, 0.87 and 1.19, provided Nusselt number up to 32%, 23% and 14% higher than TT tape insert, respectively. An average friction factor in the inner pipe generated by PT tape inserts with axial pitch ratios (Sx/W) of 0.56, 0.87 and 1.19 is found to be around 47%, 38% and 29% higher than that induced by TT tape insert, respectively. The thermal performance factor of PT tape inserts varies between 0.92 - 1.39, 0.88 - 1.34, and 0.84 - 1.28 for Sx/W = 0.56, 0.87 and 1.19, respectively. In addition, the empirical correlations of Nusselt number, friction factor and thermal performance factor were developed from the experimental results.