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Effects of the arrangement of triangle-winglet-pair vortex generators on heat transfer performance of the shell side of a double-pipe heat exchanger enhanced by helical fins

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Abstract

To improve heat transfer performance of the shell side of a double-pipe heat exchanger enhanced by helical fins, triangle-winglet-pair vortex generators (VG) were installed along the centerline of the helical channel with rectangular cross section. The effects of the arrangement of the triangle-winglet-pair VG, such as the geometry, the angle of attack and the quantity on heat transfer performance and pressure drop characteristics have been investigated experimentally to find out the optimal design of the VG. Air was used as working fluid within the range of Re from 680 to 16,000. The results show that, the heat exchange effectiveness of the shell side with VG is 16.6 % higher than that without VG. The vortices and the unsteadiness of the flow introduced by the VG make a great contribution to the increase. Under identical pressure drop condition, the angle of attack of 30° is the best choice compared with 45° and 60°. Under the three constraints, i.e., identical mass flow rate, identical pressure drop and identical pumping power, the largest VG size can achieve the best enhancement effect. Installation of three pairs of VG within one pitch is an optimal design for the shell side used in the present experiments. The enhancement effect of isosceles right triangle is better than that of right triangle in which one acute angle is 30°.

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Abbreviations

A :

Cross-sectional area of the flow channel

a :

Length of the upstream edge of the vortex generators

b :

Length of the downstream edge of the vortex generators

c p :

Specific heat of air at constant pressure

D :

Middle diameter of the helical channel

D h :

Hydraulic diameter of the flow channel

Dn :

Dean number

d i :

Outer diameter of inner tube

F :

Heat transfer area

f :

Fanning Friction factor

H :

Half height of the cross section

h :

Heat transfer coefficient

L :

Total length of the centerline of the helical channel

l :

Straight length of the inner tube

n :

Quantity of the winglet pairs within one pitch

Nu :

Nusselt number

P :

Pitch of the helical fins

Pr :

Prandtl number

p :

Pressure

Q :

Heat

R :

Radium of the helical channel

Re :

Reynolds number

t :

Temperature

u :

Velocity

V :

Volume flow rate

W :

Half width of the cross section

x :

Coordination in the direction of the tube axis

β :

Angle of attack

Δ:

Difference of the variables

δ :

Distance between a pair of winglets

ε :

Dimensionless torsion of the helical channel

η :

Heat exchange effectiveness

θ :

Degree of one acute angle of the triangle winglet

κ :

Dimensionless curvature of the helical channel

λ :

Thermal conductivity

υ :

Kinematic viscosity

ρ :

Density of air

σ :

Thickness of the helical fins

e:

Enhanced heat exchanger

f:

Fin

in:

Inlet

m:

Average

out:

Outlet

s:

Heat exchanger with smooth inner tube

w:

Wall

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Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge financial supports for this work provided by the national natural science foundation of China (Nos. 51406125, 51506133, 21476142).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Chemical Engineering, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, 110142, Liaoning, China

    Li Zhang & Bojun Shang

  2. School of Energy and Power Engineering, Shenyang University of Chemical Technology, Shenyang, 110142, Liaoning, China

    Huibo Meng, Yaxia Li, Cuihua Wang, Bin Gong & Jianhua Wu

Authors
  1. Li Zhang
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  2. Bojun Shang
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  3. Huibo Meng
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  4. Yaxia Li
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  5. Cuihua Wang
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  6. Bin Gong
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  7. Jianhua Wu
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Correspondence to Jianhua Wu.

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Zhang, L., Shang, B., Meng, H. et al. Effects of the arrangement of triangle-winglet-pair vortex generators on heat transfer performance of the shell side of a double-pipe heat exchanger enhanced by helical fins. Heat Mass Transfer 53, 127–139 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-016-1804-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-016-1804-7

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