Numerical evaluation of the heat transfer in a shell and corrugated coil tube heat exchanger with three various water‐based nanofluids

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper, turbulence heat transfer and nanofluid flow in a shell and corrugated coil tube heat exchanger are evaluated numerically. The three‐dimensional numerical simulations have been done by finite volume method using a commercial computational fluid dynamics code. The spatial discretization of mass, momentum, turbulence dissipation rate, and turbulence kinetic energy equations has been achieved by a second‐order upwind scheme. A SIMPLE algorithm has been used for velocity–pressure coupling. To calculate gradients, Green‐Gauss cell‐based method has been utilized. The cross‐section of the coil tube is lobe shaped. First, the impact of corrugated tube cross‐section type and then, the impact of utilizing different types of nanofluid on thermal performance are investigated. The outcomes indicate that at high Reynolds number, utilizing a five‐lobe cross‐section causes augmentation in Nusselt number and pressure drop by about 4.8% and 3.7%, respectively. However, the three‐lobe type shows the highest thermal performance. Moreover, water/CuO has the most thermal performance. As the volume concentration of the nanofluid increases, the thermal performance declines.