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The effects of short length and full length swirl generators on heat transfer and flow fields in a solar air heater tube

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Abstract

The effects of short length (SL) and full length (FL) swirl generators on heat transfer and flow fields in a solar air heater tube have been investigated experimentally. Thermal energy transport coefficient performance for different values of the spring ratio, twist ratio, tape thickness ratio and diameter ratio (DR) was studied for Reynolds numbers (Re) ranging between 6000 and 20,000. The tube with swirl generator inserts augments the thermal energy transport coefficient mostly, which is accompanied by a larger pressure penalty. The twisted and spring tape (FL) leads to larger thermal energy transport coefficient than spring and twisted tape (SL). It was found that by using spring and twisted tape (FL) at constant pumping power, heat duty increases up to 22% and 27% in comparison with spring and twisted tape (SL), respectively. Similarly, by using spring and twisted tape (FL) at constant heat duty, pumping power rises up to 27% and 33% in comparison with spring and twisted tape (SL), respectively. A large database has been generated for the thermal energy transport coefficient and thermal–hydraulic performance which is beneficial for the design of solar thermal heaters and heat exchangers.

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Abbreviations

A :

Heat transfer area = \(\pi DL\), m2

C p :

Constant pressure specific heat, J kg−1 K−1

D :

Internal diameter of the plain tube, m

f :

Fully developed Fanning friction factor, dimensionless

g :

Gravitational acceleration, m s−2

Gr :

Grashof number = \(g\beta \rho^{2} D_{\text{h}}^{3} \Delta T_{\text{w}} /\mu^{2}\), dimensionless

H :

Pitch of the spring tape, m

h z :

Axially local heat transfer coefficient, W m−2K−1

K :

Fluid thermal conductivity, W m−1 K−1

k :

Twist ratio

L :

Length, m

Nu m :

Axially averaged Nusselt number

\(\Delta P_{\text{z}}\) :

Pressure drop, mm

Pr :

Fluid Prandtl number = \({\raise0.7ex\hbox{${\mu C_{\text{p}} }$} \!\mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {{\mu C_{\text{p}} } k}}\right.\kern-0pt} \!\lower0.7ex\hbox{$k$}}\), dimensionless

Ra :

Rayleigh number = \(Gr \cdot Pr\)

Re :

Reynolds number based on plain tube diameter, dimensionless

T :

Temperature, K

∆Tw :

Wall to fluid bulk temperature difference, K

X :

Prn, the value of n depends on the exponent of Pr in the correlation

Y :

\(\left( {\frac{{\mu_{\text{b}} }}{{\mu_{\text{w}} }}} \right)^{ - 0.14} \times \frac{1}{5.172}\)

y :

Spring ratio, dimensionless

δ :

Tape thickness ratio, t/D, m

µ :

Fluid dynamic viscosity, kg ms−1

ρ :

Density of the fluid, kg m−3

ax:

At axial flow condition

b:

At bulk fluid temperature

m:

Axially averaged

FLST:

Full length spring tape

SLST:

Short length spring tape

FLTT:

Full length twisted tape

sw:

At swirl flow condition

w:

At duct wall temperature, with

z:

Local value

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Acknowledgements

The author would like to appreciatively acknowledge Dr. Abubakar Idris Bashir from Bayero University, Kano, Nigeria, and Prof. Ali Cemal Benim from Duesseldorf University of Applied Sciences, Germany, for their help and guidance in this research. Author would also like to acknowledge Mechanical Engineering Department of MCKV Institute of Engineering, India, and Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering Department of University of Pretoria, South Africa, for their help in this research.

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  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Birla Institute of Technology & Science, Pilani, Pilani Campus, Pilani, Rajasthan, 333 031, India

    Suvanjan Bhattacharyya

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Bhattacharyya, S. The effects of short length and full length swirl generators on heat transfer and flow fields in a solar air heater tube. J Therm Anal Calorim 140, 1355–1369 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-019-08764-x

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