A review on the potential applications of curved geometries in process industry

The potential industrial applications of curved tubes for single- and two-phase flow are reviewed within the context of physics of flow, trends in the development of technology, and its laboratory to industrial-scale commercialization. Comparison of the performance of curved tube configurations demonstrates its edge over the conventional motionless mixers, heat exchangers, and reactors. Alongside, their respective advantages and limitations are also highlighted. Further, a compendium of the available correlations for single- and two-phase friction factor and heat- and mass-transfer coefficient in curved tubes has also been presented. Key issues regarding the design parameters governing the performance of the curved tubes for mixing and heat- and mass-transfer that impact the research, development, and scale-up or scale-down of such devices are also analyzed. Emerging trends for the development of a new class of curved tubes, namely, inverters and serpentine and chaotic devices are also presented.