Thermal effectiveness enhancement in heat exchange tube using louver-punched V-baffles

Abstract

An efficient technique for reducing frictional loss by punching holes on the surface of vortex generators has been extensively researched, particularly in the form of louver-punched holes. This article describes an experimental and numerical examination of thermal effectiveness in a heat exchange tube with louvered baffle vortex generators (LBVG). As air was directed to the LBVG-inserted tube with a consistent heat flux, the flow was measured in a turbulent regime. The LBVGs were set at 30° attack angle (α) and mounted at regular intervals on a two-sided flat tape with one relative baffle height (b/D = RB = 0.25) and pitch (P/D= RP = 1) at the first step. The baffles had five different louver angles (θ = 0 ˗ 90°) and three different relative louver sizes (LR= e/b = 0.4, 0.56, and 0.72). The Nusselt number ratio (NuR), friction factor ratio (fR), and thermal effectiveness factor (TEF) were utilized to quantify the performance of LBVGs. The findings showed that LBVGs had much lower fR values than solid baffles (without holes), whereas NuR values decreased slightly. When θ and LR were reduced, the fR and NuR for LBVGs increased until they resembled those for solid baffles. Through numerical simulations using the realizable k-ε turbulent model based on the finite volume method, the flow and temperature fields of various cases were generated; their results were verified via analysis of the fluid flow patterns. The computational findings revealed that the jet flow from the louver hole could boost heat transfer, and TEF of LBVGs varied depending on the placement of the hole. According to the computations, the optimal TEF at RP = 0.75, LR = 0.4, and θ1 = 20° is roughly 2.64, and the hole should be placed toward the baffle ends rather than in the middle.