Optimizing the hydrothermal performance of helically corrugated coiled tube heat exchangers using Taguchi’s empirical method: energy and exergy analysis

Abstract

In this work, a three-dimensional study of shell and helically corrugated coiled tube heat exchanger with considering exergy loss is investigated. Various design parameters and operating conditions such as corrugation depth (e), corrugation pitch (p) or the number of rounds, inlet fluid flow rate on the coil and shell sides are numerically investigated to examine the heat exchanger hydrothermal performance. Taguchi analysis is used to analyze the hydrothermal parameters by considering the interaction effects of them. The obtained results showed that increasing the inlet fluid flow rate on the coil side, corrugation depth and the number of rounds increases both heat transfer and pressure drop. It is also found that the most effective parameter on the thermal performance of the heat exchanger is the fluid flow rate on the coil side, followed by the corrugation depth and the most effective parameter on the hydrodynamic performance of the heat exchanger is fluid flow rate on the coil side, followed by corrugation pitch and corrugation depth. Based on the exergy analysis in the heat exchanger, using a helically corrugated coiled tube instead of the helically plain coiled tube in the heat exchanger for the cases of low Reynolds numbers has higher effectiveness.