Search Results (15)

Heat transfer enhancement is always pursued in the industry to achieve high-performance and low-energy-consumption heat exchange devices and systems. For decades, various types of heat transfer-enhancing tubes with differing geometries and wall configurations have been developed. In this paper, the heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics of air inside an innovative heat transfer tube with regular wall dimples, namely a vortex-enhanced tube, which has a great application prospect in the gas–gas heat exchanger, are numerically studied with an experimentally validated model. The effects of the depth, axial pitch, and radial rotation angle of the dimple in the tube wall on the convective heat transfer coefficient and friction drag coefficient are comprehensively analyzed. Based on the Performance Evaluation Criteria (PEC) of the tubes, the optimal parameters of the vortex-enhanced tube are obtained. When Re ranges from 10,000 to 40,000, the comprehensive evaluation factor of the vortex-enhanced tube is 1.29 times higher than the smooth tube. Dimple pacing, dimple depth, and dimple helical angle of the optimal tube type are 8 mm, 6 mm, and 83°, respectively. Full article

The goal of this research is to convey an outlook of heat transfer and friction factor in an exper-imental study with a double-pipe heat exchanger (DPHE). In process heat transformation (HT) and friction factor(f) in a DPHE counter-flow with a twisted tape (TT) arrangement by dimple inserts. The grooves were a kind of concavity that enhanced thermal transfer while only slightly degrading pressure. Heat transmission (HT) and friction factor(f) were investigated employing dimples with twisting tape of varying diameters along with uniform diameter (D) to the diameter-to-depth ratio (D/H). The impact of using twisted tape with various dimpled diameters D = 2, 4, and 6 mm at a uniform (D/H) = 1.5, 3 and 4.5 on heat transmission and friction factor properties were discussed. The dimple diameter (D) was directly connected to the friction coefficient (f), hence the highest value of friction factor was established at (D) = 6 mm. Furthermore, the best performance of Nusselt number (Nu) and performance evaluation criteria (PEC) was determined at a diameter of 4 mm. As a result, dimpled twisted tape additions are an excellent and cost-effective approach to improve heat transformation in heat exchangers. With fluid as a water, lower parameters, and higher Reynolds number (Re) resulted in better thermal conditions. Thermal performance and friction factor(f) correlations were developed with regard to the ge-ometry of the dimple diameter (D), its ratio (D/H), ‘Re’, and a good correspondence with the experimental data was achieved. The novel geometry caused a smaller pressure drop despite its higher convection heat transfer coefficient. The results also showed that raising the ‘Re’ and nanofluid concentration, the pressure drop increased. Full article

An experimental study was undertaken to study the tube-side evaporation heat transfer characteristics of enhanced tubes and compare their performance with that of smooth tubes. These experiments were conducted in order to determine how R410a evaporates inside smooth and enhanced tubes; for a saturation temperature of 279.15 K; with mass flux values that ranged from 50 to 250 kg/(m²·s); for an inlet quality of 0.2 and outlet quality of 0.8. Enhanced tubes evaluated include herringbone (HB) and helix (HX) designs with microgrooves, composite herringbone dimple (HB/D), composite herringbone hydrophobic (HB/HY), and composite EHT (multiple enhancement character) tubes. Experimental results show that the evaporation heat-transfer coefficient in the Cu-EHTb tube was the highest; its performance was closely related to the increased number of nucleation points that are found inside the tube; however, the performance of the SS-EHT-HB/D was not significantly higher than that of a smooth tube. The best overall capacity for evaporative heat transfer is shown in the SS-EHT-HB/HY and SS-EHT-HX tubes; the SS-EHT-HB/D, Cu-EHTa, and Cu-EHTb tubes had the worst overall capacity among all the tested tubes. Additionally, it was determined that previously reported smooth tube models to determine the evaporation heat transfer coefficient can accurately predict the heat transfer inside a smooth tube. However, when trying to utilize smooth tube models for enhanced tubes, the deviation between experimentally determined heat transfer coefficient (HTC) values and those predicted when using smooth tube models to predict enhanced tube results is ±30%; therefore, smooth tube models are not applicable for use with enhanced tubes. Smooth tube models were modified, and after correction, the deviation between experimentally determined heat transfer coefficient (HTC) values and those predicted when using the modified model for use with enhanced tubes is ±10%. Finally, the effect of the thermal resistance of the tube wall on the overall heat transfer coefficient of a stainless steel-enhanced tube is significant and cannot be overlooked. Full article

In order to study the heat transfer of R410A in extreme environments, the properties of several stainless steel and copper-enhanced tubes were evaluated using R410A as the working fluid, and the results were compared with those of smooth tubes. Tubes evaluated include: smooth, herringbone (EHT-HB) and helix (EHT-HX) microgroove, herringbone/dimple (EHT-HB/D); herringbone/hydrophobic (EHT-HB/HY); and composite enhancement 1EHT (three-dimensional). Experimental conditions include a saturation temperature of 318.15K with a saturation pressure of 2733.5 kPa; a mass velocity in the range between 50 and 400 kg/(m²·s); and an inlet quality controlled at 0.8 and an outlet quality of 0.2. Results indicate that the EHT-HB/D tube produces the best overall condensation heat transfer characteristics (high heat transfer performance and low frictional pressure drop). Using the performance factor (PF) to compare tubes for the range of conditions considered, the PF of the EHT-HB tube is greater than one, the PF of the EHT-HB/HY tube is slightly greater than one, and the PF of the EHT-HX tube is less than one. In general, as the mass flow rate increases, PF initially decreases and then increases. Previously reported smooth tube performance models that have been modified (for use with the EHT-HB/D tube) can predict the performance for 100% of the data points to within ±20%. Furthermore, it was determined that the thermal conductivity of the tube (when comparing stainless steel and copper) will have some effect on the tube-side thermal hydraulic performance. For smooth tubes, the heat transfer coefficients (HTC) of copper and stainless steel tubes are similar (with copper tube values being slightly higher). For enhanced tubes, performance trends are different; the HTC of the copper tube is larger than the SS tube. Full article

Swirling hot air is a promising heat transfer enhancement technology for anti-icing applications in aircrafts, where the swirling flow is accompanied by pretty high turbulence and a quite thin boundary layer. It is of interest to investigate the compound heat transfer characteristics of the swirling air configuration combined with surface structures on the internal wall. This paper carries out a series of numerical computations to obtain the Nusselt number and pressure loss data in such a swirling air heat transfer system with four kinds of surface structures (trenches, ribs, dimples and bulges) on the wall and with different tangential inlet jets placed along the tube. At a tube Reynolds number from 10,000 to 50,000, the results show that the surface dimples and bulges are conducive to improving the Nusselt number, but the surface trenches and ribs show a Nusselt number deterioration relative to the smooth swirl tube. Among the four investigated surface structures, the surface bulges perform best, which can enhance the Nusselt number by up to 15.0%, increase the total heat transfer quantity by up to 17.3% and reduce the hot air pressure loss by up to 15.6%. Furthermore, the circumferential velocity distribution and swirl number are introduced to describe the flow fields. The surface trenches and ribs lead to less of a reduction in the circumferential velocity and swirl intensity, while the surface dimples and bulges could significantly suppress the in-tube swirl intensity. Full article

Solar power is often regarded as one of the most promising forms of alternative energy since it is both sustainable and renewable. It is difficult to utilize and benefit from solar energy in residential and industrial applications because of the intermittent nature of its supply. A solar-based water heating system is efficient for using solar thermal conversion, the simplest and most successful method of turning solar energy into thermal energy. In this research, the performance analysis of Parabolic Trough Solar Collectors (PTSCs) with aluminum-coated copper dimple tubes was computationally and experimentally analyzed. For computational analysis, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) tool was used. For experimental analysis, aluminum-coated dimple tubes were used to pass the base fluid (water) in it while varying the mass flow rate from 1.0 to 3.0 kg/min at steps of 0.5 kg/min to examine the effect of dimple texturing and aluminum coating on the performance of the solar water heater. The parameters, such as thermal efficiency, friction factor, convective heat transfer coefficient, Nusselt number, and effectiveness of the PTSC, were analyzed, and we found remarkable improvement towards high conversion efficiency. At a flow rate of 2.5 kg/min, the thermal efficiency was improved by about 36%, the friction factor increased by about 0.32%, the convective heat transfer coefficient was improved by 1150 W/m²K, Nusselt number was improved by about 53.8 and the effectiveness was enhanced by 0.4. The simulation results were compared with the experimental results, and the deviation was about ±3.8%, which may be due to an error in the instrument as well as environmental conditions during the analysis. The outcome of results can be used for real-life applications in industrial water heating and domestic water heating especially, the places exposed to low solar radiation intensity throughout the year. Full article

The processing of dimple on the outer wall of tube will produce corresponding protrusion dimple on the inner wall. The turbulent flow and heat transfer performance of a tubular heat exchanger containing a dimpled inner tube is studied numerically. The results show that the main reason for the enhancement of heat transfer ability of the dimple is the flow vortex in the concave dimple and the shock to the wall induced by the protrusion dimple. Compared with the smooth wall of the tube, the maximum enhancement of heat transfer was 1.94 times in concave dimple and 2.74 times in protrusion dimple. By comparing the heat transfer performance, flow resistance, and comprehensive heat transfer factor of the tube and shell of different sizes of exchange heat pipe, it is determined that the combination of inner and outer wall dimple size of 10–15 mm is a structure with better comprehensive heat transfer performance. Full article

The flow and heat transfer characteristics in micro-tube are very important research fields. In order to study the influence of the Reynolds number on the overall characteristics of flow and heat transfer, a 510 mm long micro-tube with dimples was constructed. Thirty-five different working conditions are considered, and the Reynolds number is between 1500 and 8100. At the same time, the change of physical properties of coolant with temperature is considered. The reliability of numerical simulation results is verified by the grid independence verification and the comparison of experimental data. The results show that the dimple will promote the instability of the flow state and improve the heat transfer efficiency. The flow state evolution formed in the stream-wise direction is basically similar, and its fully developed position remains at 76 mm, which is independent of the Reynolds number. For the fully developed region, the partial derivation of static pressure in the stream-wise component has a quasi-linear relationship with the stream-wise direction. With the development in the stream-wise direction, the partial derivation of static temperature in the steam-wise component decreases. With the increase of Reynolds number, the friction factor f and heat transfer factor j decrease. The ratio of factor heat transfer f to Reynolds number relative collapses for the different cases, especially when the Reynolds number is larger than 3800. The heat transfer factor j is an exponential function of the Reynolds number and decreases with the increased Reynolds number. Full article

Commercial Al-brass tube was successfully processed by Parallel Tubular Channel Angular Pressing (PTCAP) in 2 passes under an imposed strain of 1.49 per pass. The effect of the number of PTCAP passes on the microstructure and the mechanical properties (hardness, tensile, and wear mass loss) of the Al-brass tubes was fully investigated. The average grain size of the as-received tube decreased to 1.28 μm after up to two passes of PTCAP with a mixture of ultrafine grain (UFG) and coarse grain (CG). The annealed tubes’ tensile strength and Vickers hardness increased by 237.65% and 175.6%, respectively, after two passes. In addition, a ductile fracture occurred with a clear necking. The fracture surface morphology indicated an apparent decrease in dimple size after PTCAP processing, combined with a decrease in ductility. Moreover, the wear mass loss decreased with increasing number of PTCAP passes due to the decrease in the grain size, and the increase of the hardness of the tubes was enhanced after PTCAP processing. Full article

In the present decade, research regarding solar thermal air heaters (SAHs) has noticed a continuous progression in thermo-hydraulic performance augmentation approaches. There now exists a wide variety of thermo-hydraulic performance augmentation approaches and researchers have designated various structures. Nevertheless, there seems to be no generalization to any of the approaches employed. The present numerical investigation reports on the thermo-hydraulic characteristics and thermal performance for flow through a varied length (full, medium, half, and short length) dimple solar air heater (SAH) tube. The study highlights recent developments on enhanced tubes to augment heat transfer in SAH. The influence of different length ratio, dimple height ratio (H), and pitch ratio (s) on thermo-hydraulic characteristics have been investigated in the Reynolds number (Re) range from 5000 to 25,000. Air is used as the working fluid. The commercial software ANSYS Fluent is used for simulation. The shear stress transport (SST) model is used as the turbulence model. Thermal energy transport coefficient is increased in the full-length dimple tube (FLDT), compared to the medium-length dimple tube (MLDT), half-length dimple tube (HLDT) and short-length dimple tube (SLDT). Similarly, the pitch ratio (s) has more influence on Nusselt number (Nu) compared to the dimple height ratio (H). The friction factor decreases with an increase in pitch ratio. Nu increases and f decreases with increasing Re for all combinations of H and s. Low s and higher H yields high enhancement of HT and PD. Integration of artificial roughness on the tube increases the values of Nu and f by 5.12 times and 77.23 times for H = 0.07, s = 1.0 at Re value of 5000 and 25,000, respectively, in regard to the plain tube. For all the tested cases, the thermo-hydraulic performances (η) are greater than unity. Full article

A study was carried out to determine in-tube evaporation and condensation performance of enhanced heat transfer tubes (EHT) using R410A, with the results being compared to a plain tube. The test tubes considered in the evaluation include: plain, herringbone (HB) and spiral (HX) microgrooves, herringbone dimple (HB/D), and hydrophobic herringbone (HB/HY). Experiments to evaluate the condensation were conducted at a saturation of 318 K, and at 279 K for evaporation. Mass flux (G) ranged between 40 to 230 kg m⁻²s⁻¹. Condensed vapor mass decreased from 0.8 to 0.2; and the mass of vaporized vapor increases from 0.2 to 0.8; heat flux increased with G. Inlet and outlet two-phase flow patterns at 200 kg m⁻²s⁻¹ were recorded and analyzed. Enhanced tube heat transfer condensation performance (compared to a plain tube) increased in the range from 40% to 73%. The largest heat transfer increase is produced by the herringbone–dimple tube (HB/D). In addition to providing drainage, the herringbone groove also helps to lift the accumulated condensate to wet the surrounding wall. Evaporation thermal performance of the enhanced tubes are from 4% to 46% larger than that of smooth tube with the best performance being in the hydrophobic herringbone tube (HB/HY). This enhancement can be attributed to an increase in the number of nucleation sites and a larger heat transfer surface area. Evaporation and condensation correlations for heat transfer in smooth tubes is discussed and compared. Full article

The effects of heat treatment on the microstructure, mechanical properties and electrochemical property of the as-extruded Mg-5Zn-1Mn (ZM51) alloy tube are investigated by optical microstructure (OM), X-ray diffractometer (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), transmission electrical microscope (TEM), uniaxial tensile test, and electrochemical test. The results show that the as-cast structure is a typical dendritic structure, mainly composed of α-Mg and Mg₇Zn₃ eutectic compounds. After homogenization, most of Mg₇Zn₃ eutectic phases are dissolved in the Mg matrix. During the extrusion process, the ZM51 alloy has undergone complete dynamic recrystallization and has a good elongation, reaching 21.4%. T6, especially T4 + double aging treatment, can significantly improve the mechanical properties of the as-extruded tube. The microstructure reveals that the precipitation strengthening of the finely dispersed MgZn₂ precipitates is the main reason for the strength increase. The fracture micromorphology of the as-extruded tube is mainly composed of dimples and cleavage facets, which is a typical ductile fracture. The fracture mode of the as-aged alloy tubes belongs to cleavage fracture. In addition, the electrochemical test results show the solution-treated ZM51 alloy tube has the best corrosion resistance. The improvement of corrosion resistance is mainly due to the microstructure uniformity and low phase volume fraction. Full article

An experimental study was carried out to explore the heat transfer characteristics on the outside of smooth and enhanced tubes, during evaporation and condensation of R134A in the annulus of a tube-in-tube heat exchanger. The three-dimensional enhanced surface tube consisted of primary enhancement patterns and secondary patterns; results were compared to the performance of an equivalent smooth tube. The equivalent external diameter of the inside horizontal copper tubes used in this study was 19.05 mm, while the outer tube varied in size, allowing a comparison of heat transfer for different annulus dimensions. Tests were conducted with a fixed inlet/outlet vapor quality and a constant saturation temperature for varied mass velocities in the range of 30 to 100 kg/(m²∙s). For condensation, the ratio of heat transfer coefficient enhancement (enhanced tube/ smooth tube) was up to 1.78; this can be attributed to the turbulence increase, as well as liquid film re-distribution, produced from the dimples. Furthermore, the condensation heat transfer coefficient increased rapidly with increasing mass flux. For flow boiling in the annulus between the 1EHT tube and outer tube, the heat transfer coefficient during boiling was 11–36% higher when compared to the smooth tube at x_ave = 0.35, while the performance of the 1EHT tube was not as good as the smooth tube at x_ave = 0.5. The heat transfer deterioration can be explained by decreased effective nucleate flow boiling heat transfer area and the flow pattern transition between a slug/wavy-stratified flow to wavy-stratified flow. Full article

An experimental investigation was conducted to explore the flow boiling heat transfer characteristics of refrigerants R134A and R410A inside a smooth tube, as well as inside two newly developed surface-enhanced tubes. The internal surface structures of the two enhanced tubes are comprised of protrusions/dimples and petal-shaped bumps/cavities. The equivalent inner diameter of all tested tubes is 11.5 mm, and the tube length is 2 m. The experimental test conditions included saturation temperatures of 6 °C and 10 °C; mass velocities ranging from 70 to 200 kg/(m²s); and heat fluxes ranging from 10 to 35 kW/m², with inlet and outlet vapor quality of 0.2 and 0.8. It was observed that the enhanced tubes exhibit excellent flow boiling heat transfer performance. This can be attributed to the complex surface patterns of dimples and petal arrays that increase the active heat transfer area; in addition, more nucleation sites are produced, and there is also an increased interfacial turbulence. Results showed that the boiling heat transfer coefficient of the enhanced surface tubes was 1.15–1.66 times that of the smooth tubing. Also, effects of the flow pattern and saturated temperature are discussed. Finally, a comparison of several existing flow boiling heat transfer models using the data from the current study is presented. Full article

This study performed evaluations of the shell and helically-coiled tube heat exchangers with various dimple arrangements, that is, flat, inline, staggered, and bulged, at different Dean numbers (De) and inlet temperatures of a hot channel. Conjugated heat transfer was analyzed to evaluate the heat transfer performance of the exchangers through temperature difference between the inlet and outlet, Nusselt number inside the coiled tube, and pressure drop of the coiled tube by using 3-D Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) equations with shear stress transport turbulence closure. A grid dependency test was performed to determine the optimal number of the grid system. The numerical results were validated using the experimental data, and showed good agreement. The inline and staggered arrangements show the highest temperature differences through all De. The staggered arrangement shows the best heat transfer performance, whereas the inline arrangement shows the second highest performance with all ranges of De and the hot channel’s inlet temperature. The inline and staggered arrangements show the highest pressure drop among all inlet temperatures of the hot channel. Full article