EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION ON HEAT TRANSFER AND PRESSURE DROP OF CONICAL COIL HEAT EXCHANGER

The heat transfer and pressure drop analysis of conical coil heat exchanger with various tube diameters, fluid flow rates, and cone angles is presented in this paper. Fifteen coils of cone angles 180 degrees (horizontal spiral), 135 degrees, 90 degrees, 45 degrees, and 0 degrees (vertical helical) are fabricated and analysed with, same average coil diameter, and tube length, with three different tube diameters. The experimentation is carried out with hot and cold water of flow rate 10 to 100 L per hour (Reynolds range 500 to 5000), and 30 to 90 L per hour, respectively. The temperatures and pressure drop across the heat exchanger are recorded at different mass flow rates of cold and hot fluid. The various parameters: heat transfer coefficient, Nusselt number, effectiveness, and friction factor, are estimated using the temperature, mass flow rate, and pressure drop across the heat exchanger. The analysis indicates that, Nusselt number and friction factor are function of flow rate, tube diameter, cone angle, and curvature ratio. Increase in tube side flow rate increases Nusselt number, whereas it reduces with increase in shell side flow rate. Increase in cone angle and tube diameter, reduces Nusselt number. The effects of cone angle, tube diameter, and fluid flow rates on heat transfer and pressure drop characteristics are detailed in this paper. The empirical correlations are proposed to bring out the physics of the thermal aspects of the conical coil heat exchangers.