Influence of the twisting and nano fluids on performance of a triangular double tube heat exchanger

Abstract

Abstract The hydraulic and thermals performance of flow in a double-tube heat exchanger with an inner twisted triangle tube of length L = 1 m has been studied numerically. Equations for energy, turbulence, and Navier–Stokes were used to model the fluid flow and heat transfer in a double-tube heat exchanger with an inner twisted triangle tube. The Reynolds number range was 5000–30,000 for nanofluid (water-Al2O3) as a working fluid under a turbulent flow regime. The considered configuration was examined by varying the volume concentration of nanofluid while keeping the twist ratio constant (Tr = 5). Different cases of volume concentration of nanofluid are triggered (0.05 %, 1 %, 2.5 %, and 4 %, respectively). The numerical outcomes of a double-twisted tube heat exchanger with an inner triangle-twisted tube are validated with the obtainable numerical data. The governing equations were solved with ANSYS Fluent 18.2. The findings reveal that the larger volume concentration of nanofluid (4 %) gives a greater Nusselt number and vice versa due to the increased thermal conductivity of the nanofluid in the double twist tube heat exchanger compared with a plain tube. However, the nanofluid Nusselt number grows with the rise of both the Reynolds number and volume concentration (Ø), and the best value of the Nusselt number is 210 when Reynolds number = 30,000 and Ø = 4 %. The effectiveness of the heat exchanger grows with an increase in the concentration of the nanofluid and a reduction in the torsion ratio compared to the normal tube. The effectiveness of the double-tube heat exchanger with an inner twist triangle tube increases to the highest value of 0.38 at Reynolds 30,000 and Ø = 4 %.