EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION AND ANALYSIS OF HEAT TRANSFER RATE IN CONICAL TUBE HEAT EXCHANGER: A NOVEL ENHANCEMENT APPROACH

Heat exchangers are devices employed in transferring thermal energy from one fluid to another at varying temperature rates within thermal contact. Recent uses of such devices are found in oil refineries and (petro-) chemistry, as well as power generating projects, as all of these accommodate shell and tube type heat exchangers (STHEs). The present paper describes the major component of STHE and the modification of heat exchangers that are used in thermal power plants. The STHE is used as a heat exchanger based on its simple design and performance aspects. Even though these shell and tube heat exchangers operate at their designed point, they can be even effectively designed to achieve a better heat transfer rate by using different changes in parameters. In terms of engineering, an optimal design would involve maximal heat transferring and minimal costs. This paper also reviewed different types of STHE enhancements, including modifications in the arrangement and number of tubes, as well as their diameters, length, pitches, and types. Other aspects considered are the height of fins, and baffle types, and their spacing ratios. The outer cylindrical tube of an ordinary heat exchanger-type concentrate tube was replaced by a conical tube during the present experimental analysis. The use of epoxy resin and fibre has been developed to create new conic tubes with different diameter values. Conical tubes had a diameter of 0.882, 0.741, and 0.612. For a conical tube heat exchanger with a length of 1 meter, experiments were performed. For the inner tube, 1 LPM and the outside conical tube 1 LPM to 7 LPM were considered. The conical tube thermal transmission results were analysed and compared with cylindrical tube results. Results show that the heat transfer rate is inversely proportionate to the ratio of diameter. For HTR water flowing through conical external tubes, a correlation was developed. There were results that showed up to 22 present higher heat transfer rates.