Effects of the arrangement of triangle-winglet-pair vortex generators on heat transfer performance of the shell side of a double-pipe heat exchanger enhanced by helical fins

To improve heat transfer performance of the shell side of a double-pipe heat exchanger enhanced by helical fins, triangle-winglet-pair vortex generators (VG) were installed along the centerline of the helical channel with rectangular cross section. The effects of the arrangement of the triangle-winglet-pair VG, such as the geometry, the angle of attack and the quantity on heat transfer performance and pressure drop characteristics have been investigated experimentally to find out the optimal design of the VG. Air was used as working fluid within the range of Re from 680 to 16,000. The results show that, the heat exchange effectiveness of the shell side with VG is 16.6 % higher than that without VG. The vortices and the unsteadiness of the flow introduced by the VG make a great contribution to the increase. Under identical pressure drop condition, the angle of attack of 30° is the best choice compared with 45° and 60°. Under the three constraints, i.e., identical mass flow rate, identical pressure drop and identical pumping power, the largest VG size can achieve the best enhancement effect. Installation of three pairs of VG within one pitch is an optimal design for the shell side used in the present experiments. The enhancement effect of isosceles right triangle is better than that of right triangle in which one acute angle is 30°.