Thermal performance of tubular heat exchanger with multiple twisted-tape inserts

The paper presents an experimental investigation on enhanced heat transfer and pressure loss characteristics by using single, double, triple, and quadruple twisted-tape inserts in a round tube having a uniform heat-fluxed wall.The investigation has been conducted in the heat exchanger tube inserted with various twisted-tape numbers for co- and counter-twist arrangements for the turbulent air flow, Reynolds number(Re) from 5300 to 24000. The typical single twisted-tape inserts at two twist ratios, y/w = 4 and 5, are used as the base case, while the other multiple twisted-tape inserts are at y/w = 4 only. The experimental results of heat transfer and pressure drop in terms of Nusselt number(Nu) and friction factor(f), respectively, reveal that Nu increases with the increment of Re and of twisted-tape number. The values of Nu for the inserted tube are in a range of 1.15–2.12 times that for the plain tube while f is 1.9–4.1 times. The thermal enhancement factor of the inserted tube under similar pumping power is evaluated and found to be above unity except for the single and the double co-twisted tapes. The quadruple counter-twisted tape insert provides the maximum thermal performance.