Influence of Inserting Conical Turbulator on Heat Transfer Enhancement in a Helical Double-Pipe heat exchanger

In this paper, the effect of inserting an innovative curved turbulator on thermal performance in a helical double pipe heat exchanger is investigated numerically. The numerical simulations are performed by a commercial CFD code, ANSYS FLUENT 18.2. The considered innovative turbulator has 12 blades to create secondary flows which lead to higher heat transfer rate. Results show that utilizing turbulator with any size leads to higher heat transfer rate and thermal performance. As the mass flow rate increases, the heat transfer rate rises because of the effect of forced convection. The produced secondary flows (swirl flows) behind the considered turbulator has a significant effect on heat transfer enhancement. Also, as the inner radius of the turbulator increases leads to growth in the heat transfer rate and thermal performance.

Keywords:

Heat Transfer , Double-Pipe Heat Exchanger , Helical Tube , Thermal Performance